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Informist, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025

 

--Consumer affairs secy: Over 3,000 reports of GST cuts not passed to users 

--CONTEXT: Consumer Affairs Secy Khare speaking at FICCI sidelines

 

NEW DELHI – The consumer affairs department has received over 3,000 complaints in a week from consumers about companies not passing on the benefits of the recent cuts in goods and services tax rates, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said. These complaints are being forwarded to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs for further action.

 

"Complaints with regards to the profiteering, we are sending it to CBIC because they are the people who will be taking it up," Khare said at the sidelines of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry event here Monday. 

 

Khare said the National Consumer Helpline was strengthened ahead of GST rate reductions effective from Sept. 22 and is now handling a lot of complaints. The helpline has deployed chatbots and artificial intelligence tools to speed up complaint registration and identify it sector-wise and brand-wise. The GST Council had earlier this month approved the overhaul of the indirect tax regime by consolidating the four-slab GST structure of 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28% into a two-slab structure of 5% and 18%. The council also introduced a new GST rate of 40%, to be imposed on sin and luxury goods. 

 

"We have also trained the helpline into understanding what are the complaints and what kind of complaints are coming and from which sector. So, with the use of AI and chatbot we are able to get a clear picture about the sectors and brands," Khare said. 

 

These data will help spot pattern that could "qualify for taking up class action", Khare said. 

 

 

Khare said that complaints about profiteering and misleading discounts have risen, particularly in cases where businesses show false tax cuts but do not reflect in actual prices. "Consumers are getting cheated with misleading discounts...with increased markup prices," she said. 

 

Khare said the rising number of consumer complaints reflect trust in the government's grievance redressal system. The department has been receiving more than 150,000 complaints every month. "Over the last few years it has only doubled and that shows the trustworthiness and credibility of the National Consumer Helpline," she said. 

 

Khare said that the helpline earlier used to take about 45 days on average to settle complaints, but with technology it now resolves it by 18 days.

 

"In the case of e-commerce, it is less than seven days and in some cases, it is even 48 hours through which we are solving people's problems," she said.  End

 

Reported by Afra Abubacker

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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