GST relief fails to reach consumers as traders flout new tax rates
- Traders cite excuses like ‘old stock’ to charge higher prices
- From medicines to groceries, common man gets no relief
- Lack of monitoring lets merchants ignore reduced slabs
Tirupati: When a resident walked into a reputed pharmacy here to buy routine medicines recently, he didn’t expect a billing surprise. The printed bill showed the ‘old MRP’ of several medicines as zero, with the ‘new MRP’ reflecting the actual old price. Only a few items had both old and new prices listed, and when he questioned the salesman, he received a string of confusing answers - ‘the price is discounted and shown as the new MRP,’ ‘it’s new stock,’ etc. Yet the consumer knew that these medicines were manufactured well before September 2025 as was indicated on them, after which GST slabs were revised. With no option but to pay the higher amount, he left the store feeling cheated. His experience, however, is not an isolated one.
Across the state, similar complaints are pouring in - from pharmacies, grocery stores, and small retail outlets - of traders not passing on the benefits of the revised GST rates to consumers. The Central government had promised that the new GST slabs would bring down the tax burden and make essential commodities more affordable. But on the ground, the picture is starkly different. Many traders are either concealing the earlier MRPs or claiming that they already offer discounts, thereby nullifying any visible benefit from the GST rate cuts.
In fact, the difference between the old and new tax rates has become an unearned profit margin for many retailers. Medical shops have emerged as prime offenders, as most of them neither display updated price lists nor issue transparent bills.
In many hospitals and their attached pharmacies, too, the new rates are conveniently ignored. Pharmacists insist that tax reductions do not apply to prescription medicines, while outside stores justify overcharging by citing long-standing discounts that predate the GST reform. This selective interpretation leaves patients and families - often those with the least bargaining power - paying more than they should.
Before the new GST slabs took effect, the government had launched grand campaigns such as “Super GST – Super Savings,” assuring the public that household budgets would ease. But after the publicity drive ended, enforcement went silent. The GST department has conducted few, if any, follow-up inspections, allowing traders to manipulate prices freely. Many now use familiar excuses: old stock,’ ‘revised quantity’, or ‘new packaging,’ all to mask their failure to pass on the rate cuts. The absence of visible government action has deepened public frustration.
When contacted, a senior GST official acknowledged the issue, saying the department would soon convene a meeting with traders and take up complaints. Yet, the same apathy on part of some officials has been continuing everywhere. Without strict monitoring, consumer advocates fear such assurances will remain on paper.
