If you are buying a television, refrigerator, mixer-grinders or a washing machine, ensure that the dealer is offering a discount on products during the festive season. This, after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on certain products were slashed from 28 percent to 18 percent in July.
After a series of requests from consumer durable companies to reduce the rate of taxation, the GST Council took a decision to cut rates. The guideline was simple: pass on the rate benefit to customers as soon as possible. “We have received some reports about how not all dealers had passed on the price benefit to customers. Hence, we are cracking down across regions and will also impose penalties,” said the head of sales at a global consumer durables major.
The prices of products has fallen Rs 2,000-10,000 depending on the type of product and category of goods. The reduced prices were applicable from July 27 onwards, which means the minimum retail price of these products were required to be changed from that day itself. However, not all dealers have passed on the benefit. Consumer durable firms have sent a communication to buyers in the form of mailers and public advertisements so that they are well aware of what the new prices are. Dealers will also be penalised if rates are not reduced.
“We will impose penalties and may even look at blacklisting agents who are deliberately trying to withhold a price cut. Unless there is a small retailer who is not aware of the reduction of the rate, most dealers have been sent the new rate cards,” said a vice-president-consumer electronics at a multinational white goods firm. The GST Council has mandated anti-profiteering by companies, which means that any benefit offered to firms through a lower taxation structure has to be passed on to customers. If not, the companies are liable to pay heavy penalties and fines.
How to check a product’s MRP:
-Visit the company’s official website
-Click on the new rates tab
-Download the latest prices and save them
-Match the prices with that of products sold in stores
-If they are higher than those listed on the website, seek clarification from the dealer-If dissatisfied, contact the company and file a complaint.