Hyderabad GST Council meeting: Arun Jaitley too okayed cut in prices

Hyderabad: The GST Council meeting to be held in Hyderabad in September will issue directions to all companies to pass GST price reduction benefit to consumers. Though it’s more than 50 days since GST came into force, its impact on prices is yet to be felt.

The GST Council was said to have put a majority of consumer items in the lower tax slabs, there is no corresponding decrease in prices. This is because manufacturing companies and shops still retain old stocks. The government has not insisted that they reduce prices in order to clear the old stock and transit to the GST regime.

The GST Council, headed by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, had given an assurance that the issue will be resolved by the next meeting on September 9.

IT minister K.T. Rama Rao, who attended the last GST meeting, said Centre had launched  a publicity campaign promising that GST would bring down consumer prices as 81 per cent of the items were placed in the lower tax slabs of 5, 12 and 18 per cent. This is not seen on the ground so far. In some cases, the prices had increased and such instances will make people lose confidence in the GST regime, he said.

Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Maharashtra backed TS and wanted the Centre to make companies fall in line.