From 1st of December 2022, the Goods & Services Tax (GST) anti-profiteering complaints would be dealt with by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) as the extended tenure of National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) ends this month,” an official said on November 15.
“A notification in this regard is expected to be issued by the Finance Ministry later this month,” the official added.
After the implementation of GST law on 1st July, 2017, the NAA came into existence on 30 November 2017, after its Chairman BN Sharma assumed charge. Till May 2022, the NAA has passed 67 orders in various cases.
The NAA has been constituted under Section 171 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 to ensure that the reduction in the rate of tax or the benefit of the input tax credit is passed on to the recipient by way of commensurate reduction in prices. It is primarily constituted by the central government to analyse whether input tax credits availed by any registered person or the reduction in the tax is passed onto the consumer and he/she is protected from the random price increase for self-interests in the name of GST.
The GST Council at its 35th meeting is scheduled on June 21st, under new Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, had decided to give an extension of one year till November 30, 2020, as the authority continues to receive complaints of profiteering by companies.
As per the decision by the Council, NAA will cease to exist from December 1. Henceforth, all investigations, based on complaints filed by consumers, will be done by the Directorate General of Anti-profiteering (DGAP) which will then submit a report to CCI.
The official said a separate wing is likely to be set up in CCI to handle complaints relating to GST profiteering. As per the GST law, a three-tier structure was set up for investigation and adjudication of the profiteering complaints.
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