CBIC to address industry concerns if GST rate cuts don't reach consumers

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) will take up industry bodies' complaints relating to non-reduction in prices of goods after the reduced Goods and Service Tax (GST) rates are implemented from September 22, its chief Sanjay Kumar Agarwal has said.

The GST Council, comprising the centre and states, last week decided to cut tax rates on 375 items and reduce the number of slabs to just two from four currently.

From September 22, a 5% GST will be levied for most common-use goods, and 18% on everything else. The GST Council took a unanimous decision to do away with the 12% and 28% slabs, the biggest rejig in eight years since GST was rolled out on July 1, 2017.

Talking to Press Trust of India (PTI) after the Council decision, the CBIC Chief said the industry has, in the past, also reduced prices of goods as and when the GST Council has taken a decision to reduce taxes. Also, there are competitive forces at play in the market, which will bring about price reduction in the hands of the buyers.

"We are confident that the industry will pass on the benefits to the ultimate consumers, and in case there are any complaints received by us, we will take it up with the industry bodies," Agarwal said.

Recounting the experience in the earlier years of GST rollout, Agarwal said even though there was a mechanism to file complaints regarding profiteering, not too many applications were filed with the authority when major rate cut exercises were undertaken in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

"That gives the impression that mostly the benefits were passed on by the industry to the end consumers. So, we are not expecting a different situation this time," Agarwal said.

The GST law stipulates that trade and industry need to pass on GST cut benefits to customers. An anti-profiteering authority was also set up, wherein consumers can file complaints, along with bills or invoice receipts, regarding any non-reduction in prices post GST implementation.

Under the anti-profiteering mechanism, only 704 cases were registered with the authority, and 60% of the cases were initiated within the first three to four years of implementation. The total profiteering amount that was alleged was Rs 4,362 crore in 704 cases.

As the GST system stabilised, the government announced March 31, 2025, as the sunset date for receiving profiteering complaints.