Show price changes after GST via stickers till Sep 30: Govt
The government has allowed the use of stickers with revised rates for pre-packaged items, along with the printed MRP till September 30. The clarification came as several businesses were left with unsold stock as they carried pre-GST rates. However, the printed MRP will have to include the GST rate and no stickers would be allowed after September 30.
New Delhi, Jul 4 (PTI) Clearing the air on unsold stocks of goods post GST implementation, the government today allowed use of stickers with revised rates, alongside the printed MRP for pre-packaged items, for three months to reflect changes in selling price. The clarification from the government came as several businesses were left with huge unsold inventories before the GST kicked in from July 1. The unsold items had an MRP which included all taxes of pre-GST era but with the implementation of new regime, some of the final retail prices have undergone changes because of increase or decrease in tax incidences. The old maximum retail price (MRP) will have to be necessarily displayed on the unsold inventories and the new rates can be reflected by way of pastable stickers 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. However, after September 30, the printed MRP on pre- packaged commodity will have to necessary include the GST rate and no add-on stickers would be allowed. "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 1-September 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 