With several businesses left with huge unsold inventories, the Government on Tuesday allowed the use of stickers with revised rates, alongside the printed MRP, on pre-packaged items for three months to reflect changes in selling price post GST.
In case of hike in prices of unsold goods, the manufacturer or packer or importer will have to give at least two advertisements in two or more newspapers informing about the change, Consumer Affairs Secretary Avinash Srivastava told reporters.
The move came just three days after the implementation of GST. In pre-GST era, the unsold items had an MRP which included all taxes but with the implementation of GST, some of the final retail prices have undergone changes because of increase or decrease in tax incidences.
After September 30, however, the printed MRP on pre-packaged commodity will have to necessarily include the GST rate and no add-on stickers would be allowed.
The notification also 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 GST.
For reducing the MRP, a sticker of revised lower MRP (inclusive of all taxes) may be affixed and the same shall not cover the MRP declaration made by the manufacturer or the packer or importer.