NT Reporter
Panaji
Officials of the Commercial Tax Department on Tuesday visited around 117 shops across the state to check if the goods and services tax (GST) rate reductions are being passed on to customers.
No violations were reported during the visits.
The officials visited all types of shops such as grocery stores, pharmacies, cement retailers, etc in the eight GST ‘wards’.
The visits were in Margao (30 shops), Panaji (19), Vasco (15), Ponda (14), Mapusa (11), Bicholim (12), Curchorem (9) and Pernem (7 shops).
Checks were also conducted in large supercentres like Magsons, where officials were seen examining the billing system of the store.
In Margao, the Punjab & Sind Store, selling milk products, was one of the stores inspected.
There the bill revealed that the price of paneer had come down to Rs 248 per packet from Rs 260 per packet.
Paneer is now exempt from GST from 5 per cent previously.
The tax rate on nearly all food items has been reduced to 5 per cent from 12-18 per cent previously.
On September 22, the state GST commissioner SS Gill had directed members of trade and industry to implement the GST reforms and ensure that the benefit of lower taxes reached consumers.
A circular issued by the Commercial Tax Department warned of prompt action against businesses that did not comply with the new tax schedule under the GST Act.
“Difficulty if any in the implementation of the GST reforms must be brought to the notice of the department,” it stated.
The reforms, which were announced at the 56th meeting of the GST Council on September 3, came into effect on Monday.
