Anti-profiteering provisions & Anti-profiteering Authority

By

In terms of Section 171 of the CGST Act, 2017, the suppliers of goods and services should pass on the benefit of any reduction in the rate of tax or the benefit of input tax credit to the recipients by way of commensurate reduction in prices. The wilful action of not passing on the above benefits to the recipients in the manner prescribed is known as “profiteering”.

The Study Report titled ‘Implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT) in India-Lessons for transition to GST’ released by the Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG) of India in June, 2010 mentioned about several cases of profiteering by dealers by not passing on the benefit of tax rate reduction to the consumers in the wake of implementation of VAT in the country. The above C&AG report, after checking the records of 13 manufacturers in a State in three initial months of implementation of VAT, found that the manufacturers did not reduce the MRP of the goods despite sharp fall in the tax rate post-VAT implementation. As a learning from the VAT experience, legal teeth was sought to be provided in GST law by incorporating anti-profiteering provisions to check profiteering by businesses when GST was being rolled out in the country.

Section 171 of CGST Act, 2017, provides that any reduction in rate of tax on any supply of goods or services or the benefit of input tax credit shall be passed on to the recipient by way of commensurate reduction in prices. 

Chapter XV of the CGST Rules, 2017 comprising of 16 Rules (Rule 122 to Rule 137), contains the detailed mechanism and procedure.

In terms of Rule 137 of the CGST Rules, 2017, the Anti-profiteering Authority shall cease to exist after the expiry of two years from the date on which the Chairman of the Authority enters upon his office unless the GST Council recommends otherwise.

The different situations in which Section 171 of CGST Act, 2017 & the identical provision in State/ UT GST Act will get attracted include: i. reduction in tax rate; ii. benefit of Input Tax Credit (ITC) available to the registered person/ supplier. 

The National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) is required to determine whether the benefit of input tax credit or reduction in the tax rate has actually resulted in a commensurate reduction in the price of the goods or services or both. The NAA has the power to identify the registered person who has not passed on the benefit of reduction in tax rate or input tax credit by way of commensurate reduction in prices and it may order reduction in prices; return to the recipient, an amount equivalent to the amount not passed on by way of commensurate reduction in prices along with interest; cancellation of registration of the supplier and imposition of penalty. In case the eligible recipient is not identifiable or does not claim return of the amount, the NAA may order the supplier to deposit the amount in the Consumer Welfare Fund.

ANTI-PROFITEERING:

The Authority shall consist of,-

(a) a Chairman who holds or has held a post equivalent in rank to a Secretary to the Government of India; and 

(b) four Technical Members who are or have been Commissioners of State tax or central tax [for at least one year] or have held an equivalent post under the existing law, to be nominated by the Council.

The GST Council may constitute a Standing Committee on Anti-profiteering which shall consist of such officers of the State Government and Central Government as may be nominated by it.

 (2) A State level Screening Committee shall be constituted in each State by the State Governments which shall consist of- 

(a) one officer of the State Government, to be nominated by the Commissioner, and 

(b) one officer of the Central Government, to be nominated by the Chief Commissioner. 

An officer not below the rank of Additional Commissioner (working in the Directorate General of [Anti-profiteering]) shall be the Secretary to the Authority.

A minimum of three members of the Authority shall constitute quorum at its meetings.

If the Members of the Authority differ in their opinion on any point, the point shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority of the members present and voting, and in the event of equality of votes, the Chairman shall have the second or casting vote. 

Reference: 

https://www.cbic.gov.in/resources//htdocs-cbec/gst/Part-A_Rules-0122.pdf

https://www.cbic.gov.in/resources//htdocs-cbec/gst/Anti-prof-FAQs-FINAL-FAQs.pdf

https://cbic-gst.gov.in/pdf/e-version-gst-fliers/AntiprofiteeringWebVersion.pdf

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Russian parliament passed a bill to revoke its ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

By
Relevance:  Russia revokes ratification of nuclear test ban treaty (CTBT) - ICAN But it affirmed that it will  retain its cooperation with the treaty’s verification system and implementing organisation.  Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which opened for signature in 1996, was intended to prohibit all nuclear weapon test explosions. Over 2,000 nuclear tests occurred between 1945 and 1996: the United States (1,000+), the Soviet Union (700+), France (200+), the United Kingdom and China (45 each). As at January 2013, 183 countries had signed the Treaty, of which 158 have also ratified it, including three of the nuclear weapon states (France, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom). However, 44 specific nuclear technology holder countries must sign and ratify before the CTBT can enter into force. Of these, eight are still missing: China, Egypt, India , Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and the US. India , North Korea and Pakista...
Read more

Interstellar space and Interstellar Probes ( Voyager and New Horizons Missions )

By
Interstellar Space: Interstellar space is often called the space between the stars, but more specifically, it’s the region between our Sun’s heliosphere and the astrospheres of other stars. Our heliosphere is a vast bubble of plasma – a gas of charged particles – that spews out of the Sun. This outflow is known as the solar wind. The bubble surrounds the Sun and stretches beyond the planets. Both Voyager spacecraft had to travel more than 11 billion miles (17 billion kilometers) from the Sun in order to cross the edge of the heliosphere. This bubble is moving through interstellar space as the Sun orbits the center of the Milky Way galaxy. As our heliosphere plows through space, it creates a bow wave, like the wave formed by the bow of a ship. Kuiper Belt &  Oort Cloud: The Kuiper Belt is a doughnut-shaped ring of icy objects around the Sun, extending just beyond the orbit of Neptune from about 30 to 55 AU. Similar to the asteroid belt, the Kuiper Belt is a region of leftovers f...
Read more

ISRO developing semi-cryogenic engine working on LOX Kerosene propellant

By
ISRO is developing a 2000 kN thrust semi-cryogenic engine working on an LOX Kerosene propellant combination for enhancing the payload capability of LVM3 and for future launch vehicles. Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) is the lead centre for the development of semi-cryogenic propulsion systems with the support of other launch vehicle centres of ISRO. The assembly and testing of the propulsion modules were done at the ISRO propulsion complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri. As part of the engine development, a pre-burner ignition test article, which is a full complement of the engine power head system excluding the turbopumps is realized. The first ignition trial was conducted successfully on May 2, 2024, at semi cryo integrated engine test facility (SIET) at IPRC, Mahendragiri, which was dedicated to the nation recently by the honorable Prime Minister of India. Smooth and sustained ignition of the preburner is demonstrated which is vital for the starting of the semi-cryogenic engine. Semi-c...
Read more