Deadline for Selling Pre-GST Goods Extended to 31 December
The government has extended the deadline for sale of pre-GST goods by three months to 31 December.
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The government has extended the deadline for sale of pre-GST goods with stickers of revised rates by three months to 31 December, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Friday.
The decision came after several companies and retailers body CAIT highlighted that they are still left with huge unsold stocks of pre-GST goods and need more time to clear that.
After implementing GST from 1 July, the government had allowed use of stickers with revised rates, alongside the printed MRP for pre-packaged items to reflect changes in selling price for three months till 30 September.
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 change due to increase or decrease in tax incidence.
A senior consumer affairs ministry official said the deadline has been extended following demand from several companies like Wipro, HPL and other non-food companies.
Since food items have expiry date for consumption, there were not many representations from such companies, the official added.
"The government hereby further permits the manufacturers or packers or importers of pre-packaged commodities to declare the changed retail price (MRP) on the unsold stock manufactured/packed/imported prior to 1 July 2017 after inclusion of the increased amount of tax due to GST, if any, in addition to the existing retail price (MRP), up to 31 December 2017," said a government communication.
Businesses had held discussions with the consumer affairs ministry regarding unsold stocks, which took up the matter with the revenue department.
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