Pre-GST goods to have two MRPs
In case of price hike post-GST, it is must to advertise the same at least twice
Companies have time till September 30 to clear unsold pre-GST goods as the government on Tuesday allowed a revised MRP to be displayed along with printed sale price to reflect the changes post the new tax regime kicking-in.
Also, food and consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan warned of legal action against manufacturers for not printing the revised MRP post-GST.
The old MRP will have to be necessarily displayed on the unsold inventories and the new rates can be reflected by way of stickers or through online printing alongside, consumer affairs secretary Avinash Srivastava told reporters here.
On items where the price has to be increased for unsold stocks, the manufacturer or packer or importer will have to give at least two advertisements in two or more newspapers informing people about the change.
“The Central government hereby permits the manufacturer or packer or importer of pre-packaged commodities to declare the changed retail sale price (MRP) for three months from July 1September 30. Declaration of the changed MRP shall be made by way of stamping or putting sticker or online printing,” a government notification said.
The difference between the retail sale price originally printed on the package and the revised price “shall not, in any case, be higher than the extent of increase in tax” or in the case of imposition of fresh tax on account of the implementation of the GST, it said.
“The original MRP shall continue to be displayed and the revised price shall not overwrite on it,” the notification said.
Companies have time till September 30 to clear unsold pre-GST goods as the government on Tuesday allowed a revised MRP to be displayed along with printed sale price to reflect the changes post the new tax regime kicking-in.
For reducing the MRP, a sticker of revised lower MRP (inclusive of all taxes) may be affixed and the same shall not cover the MRP declaration made by the manufacturer or the packer on the label of the package.
Meanwhile, Mr Paswan asked the manufacturers to pass on the benefits of reduced taxes under GST to consumers and warned that “shopkeepers not mentioning MRP revised because of GST will be liable for legal action.”
“After the GST came into effect, prices of some items have gone up while prices of others have come down. The benefits of decreased prices, by reduction of tax after imposition of the GST, should reach the consumers. We have granted relaxation till September 30 to industry under Packaged Commodities Rules to write new MRP on items of reduced prices due to GST,” Mr Paswan tweeted.
He said that new MRP should be mentioned on the items where prices have increased due to GST so that the consumers can be aware of the impact of GST. “The shopkeepers not mentioning MRP revised because of GST will be liable for legal action,” he added. MRP or Maximum Retail Price, as per law, is the highest price that can be charged to a consumer after including all taxes. But in case of some commodities, the tax rate has changed post-GST, altering the MRP.
This created a problem for several businesses which were left with large volumes of unsold pre-packed items when the GST came into force from July 1.
A government notification has now allowed such unsold pre-packed items to be marketed to consumers with an addon sticker indicating the revised price. The old MRP will have to be clearly on display along with the revised MRP sticker.