HYDERABAD: Retailers in the city hope to get rid of the stocks procured before the Goods and Services Tax (GST) came into force, the deadline for which is September 30. The Centre clarified on Tuesday on how retailers should display the changed maximum retail price (MRP) of goods at their shops. However, some people expressed doubts about the technicalities of it all.
“So, who will change the rates of items manually _ the retailer or the manufacturer?” asked Mohammad Younus, owner of Green Mini-Supermarket at Begumpet. Younus got confused after Union minister for food and consumer affairs Ram Vilas Paswan had warned traders of legal consequences for failure to print the revised MRP stickers.
However, the onus of changing the rates lies with the manufacturer, not the retailer or vendor, said an official from the Telangana legal metrology department. “We already have enough stock of most items and we are not in touch with wholesalers on a regular basis. So will they approach us or are we to approach them asking them to revise the rates?” Younus asked.In the wake of the new notification, sale of unsold pre-packed goods will be made with an add-on sticker depicting the revised price. The old MRP too will have to be displayed along with the revised rate.
What about unsold stuff?
Retailers also expressed fear about items with a long shelf-life which remain unsold for months. “We buy our stock from Sultan Bazaar and the items may stay with us for a few months. Do I take this item back to the wholesale shop from where I bought it or shall I change the price tag myself?” asked Dinesh Singh.
“The rates will have to be changed on items that were packed before July 1. On the goods produced or packed after the GST rollout, all manufacturers will print the new sale price. The rates have also been revised for some items that were under a different tax slab,” said C Vijaya Saradhi, district inspector, legal metrology department. “We have started sending notices to manufacturers explaining to them the rules they will have to follow,” he added.