GST effect: Centre tells shopkeepers to reprint revised MRP

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.

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 Goods and Services Tax (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 add-on sticker indicating the revised price. The old MRP will have to be clearly on display along with the revised MRP sticker.

But from October 1, all prepacked goods will have to have just one MRP including the GST. Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan warned of legal action against manufacturers for not printing the revised MRP post rollout of the GST.

“Fall in prices due to lower GST should be passed on to consumers . ... The government will take legal action against vendors not declaring revised MRP after GST,” Paswan said. 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.

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.

Meanwhile, the government appealed to industry to pass on the benefit of a reduction in taxes under GST to consumers and announced the setting up of a Central Monitoring Committee (CMC) of 15 Secretaries to monitor the prices and supply situation following the rollout of the new tax regime.

“Prices have not gone up," Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia told reporters following the first meeting of the CMC headed by the Cabinet Secretary. "I appeal to industry to help bring down prices, wherever there is a reduction in tax under GST,” he said. —