From the first day of next fiscal year – Fiscal Year 2025-26 (FY26) – no fresh case of anti-profiteering will be registered. Also, from Tuesday, the Principal Bench of GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) will hear anti-profiteering complaints in place of Competition Commission of India (CCI).
Based on the recommendation of the GST Council, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has notified changes vide issuing Notifications dated 30.09.2024, that mark the end of the anti-profiteering mechanism with the beginning of the ninth year of GST.
These Notifications are as under:
A. NOTIFICATION No. 18/2024 – Central Tax: The notification derives its authority from Section 171(2), Section 109(1), and the second proviso of Section 109(5) of the CGST Act, 2017. It empowers the Principal Bench of the Appellate Tribunal, which is constituted under Section 109(3) of the Act, to oversee compliance with anti-profiteering provisions. This notification will come into effect on October 1, 2024.
The Tribunal is tasked with examining whether:
- The input tax credits availed by registered persons (taxpayers) have been used to reduce the cost of goods or services provided.
- The benefits of any tax rate reduction have been passed on to consumers by lowering the prices of goods or services.
B. Notification No. 19/2024 – Central Tax: The notification is made under the proviso to Section 171(2) of the CGST Act, 2017, which deals with anti-profiteering measures. Specifically, it governs the examination of whether businesses have passed on the benefits of input tax credit (ITC) or reduced tax rates to consumers in the form of lower prices. This notification will come into effect on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
The 1st day of April, 2025 has been appointed as the last date for the Authority under Section 171 to accept new requests for examining cases related to:
- Whether the input tax credits availed by registered persons have led to a reduction in the price of goods or services.
- Whether the benefits of tax rate reductions have been passed on to consumers.
The Complete Notifications can be accessed at https://taxo.online/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/257601.pdf
