E-commerce platform operators such as Flipkart, Amazon, Blinkit and Zepto are under scanner of the government for hiking prices of certain items despite sweeping rate cuts under GST 2.0 that became effective September 22. After several complaints were received from the public about a price hike for certain items, the government sent out queries to a few e-commerce platforms asking about the reasoning behind the price hike. “Several users raised complaints about prices of some items going up even after the GST rate cut. We have asked the e-commerce operators (about it). The extent of price cuts after GST reduction depends on them but at least the prices should not go up if the GST rate has come down for that item,” a government official said. The government is keeping a close watch on the price changes for common-use items on e-commerce platforms, the official said, adding that they are monitoring whether prices of items have been reduced pre- and post-September 22. An executive from a major e-commerce company said that in their case, there was one item category which was showing a higher price than before the rate cuts. “This was flagged to us by the government, following which we got it checked and it turned out the prices in that category hadn’t updated due to a technical glitch. We have now fixed this,” the person added. In a statement, Flipkart said it has taken “several communication and tech enhancement measures to ensure that the GST reductions are passed on to customers, by sensitising seller partners and providing a simplified seller dashboard with automatic backend updates of the new GST slabs, thereby making it easier for them to adopt the changes”. “Through its marketplace platform, Flipkart has already enabled sellers to pass on over Rs 200+ crores of GST benefits to its customers during the early festive sale days,” it added. Amazon, Blinkit and Zepto did not respond to an immediate request for comment until publication. Last week, a senior government official had said that the government is keeping a close watch on the benefits being passed on to the consumers after the tax rate cuts became effective from September 22. Earlier, on September 9, the Revenue Department had sent a letter to principal chief commissioners and chief commissioners of central GST zones, first reported by The Indian Express, asking them to compile commodity-wise price data on 54 product categories pre- and post-September 22 including for fast-moving consumer goods, food and educational items, and drugs and medicines, as well as cement and white goods. The field offices have been asked to treat the price compilation exercise “on priority”, asking them to submit the price change reports to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) by the 20th of every month for the next six months. The first report had to be submitted by today (September 30). Most items have seen a price reduction but some items are yet to see a commensurate reduction in prices because of the unsold stock. Meanwhile, the government has received close to 3,000 complaints related to GST on the National Consumer Helpline. While the government is keeping a watch on price changes, transition-related issues especially by smaller retailers are also being taken note of. Stance on profiteering At present, there is no legal anti-profiteering provision under GST laws. At the time of the rollout of the indirect tax regime in July 2017, an anti-profiteering provision was incorporated in the Central GST (CGST) Act through Section 171(2). A National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) was then set up in November 2017 to check unfair profiteering activities by registered suppliers and ensure that commensurate benefits of reduction in GST rates on goods and services and of the input tax credit are passed on to consumers by way of reduction in prices. Initially set up for two years till 2019, it was later provided an extension. All GST anti-profiteering complaints were then dealt with by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) from December 1, 2022. In a notification dated October 1, 2024, the government then empowered the Principal bench of GSTAT (GST Appellate Tribunal) as the authority for anti-profiteering cases and notified April 1, 2025, as the sunset date for the anti-profiteering clause in the GST law.
