A penalty of Rs 75.08 crore has been imposed on Patanjali Ayurved Limited, patronized by Baba Ramdev, for not taking advantage of the reduction in GST to the customers and charging higher rates of goods.
According to the news, the National Anti-Profiting Authority (NAA) has imposed this fine. NAA has said that despite the reduction in Goods and Services Tax (GST) on washing powder, Patanjali had increased its rates and did not pass the benefit of this deduction to the customers. According to the order, along with the amount of penalty to Pantjali, 18 per cent GST amount will have to be deposited in the Consumer Welfare Fund of the Central and State Governments.
According to the Economic Times, the NAA said, "In violation of the Central GST Act, Patanjali did not pass on the benefit of tax cuts to the customers. Therefore, a show cause notice has been issued to them. The NAA said that GST was first reduced from 28 to 18 percent and then to 18 to 12 percent in November 2017, but Patanjali did not give benefits to its customers.
In response to this, Patanjali argued that GST had increased the cost considerably compared to the earlier phase, but he did not put any burden of this increased cost on the customers. But the NAA did not accept this argument.
The NAA said that this could not be a reason for not benefiting the customers. Patanjali even said that the NAA investigation violates her right to do business in the country, but the NAA also rejected her claim.
The NAA said that it has got the job of ensuring that the benefit of tax cuts reaches the customers. The Director General of Anti-Profiting (DGAP) has been asked to submit a compliance report of this fine within four months.
