The union cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved formation of the National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) under GST, after Wednesday's sharp reduction in the GST rates of a large number of items of mass consumption.
The authority is mandated to ensure that the benefits of GST rate cuts are passed on to the ultimate consumers by way of a reduction in prices, Capital Market reported.
NAA will be headed by a senior officer, ranked equivalent to secretary to the Government of India with four technical members from the Centre and states
Not just NAA, the GST framework now comprises of a standing committee, screening committees in every state and the Directorate General of Safeguards in the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC).
The "anti-profiteering" measures enshrined in the GST law provide an institutional mechanism to ensure that the full benefits of input tax credits and reduced GST rates on supply of goods or services flow to the consumers, the government said in a release.
Last week, the GST Council in its 23rd meeting in Guwahati, Assam, brought down GST rates of 177 items from 28 percent slab to the 18 percent slab. There are only 52 items which attract the GST rate of 28 percent now.
Likewise, a large number of items have witnessed reduction in GST rates from 18 percent to 12 percent and some items are completely exempted from the tax net. The revived GST rates came into effect from the midnight of 14th November, 2017.
If consumers feel the benefit of reduced rates is not being passed on he/she may apply for relief to the screening committee in their respective states. And when the item has mass impact with 'all India' ramification, the application can be directly made to the standing committee, the government said.
Government believe that constitution of the NAA would bolster confidence of consumers as they reap the benefits of the recent reduction in GST rates.
