GST Anti-Profiteering Clause to Sunset in 2025

The government has set April 1, 2025, as the sunset date for the anti-profiteering clause in the GST law. All pending complaints will be transferred to the GST Appellate Tribunal from October 1, based on GST Council recommendations. The move aims to simplify GST compliance and reduce the burden on regulatory bodies.

The government has announced April 1, 2025, as the sunset date for the anti-profiteering clause in the GST law. The shift, aimed at simplifying GST compliance, will mean that consumers cannot file new anti-profiteering complaints after this date.

Effective from October 1, all existing complaints under the anti-profiteering provisions will be handled by the Principal bench of the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) instead of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), according to an official notification from the GST policy wing of the government.

The notifications follow the recommendations made by the GST Council in its 53rd meeting on June 22. The council had suggested amending sections 171 and 109 of the CGST Act, 2017, to incorporate a sunset clause for anti-profiteering measures and delegate the handling of such cases to the Principal bench of GSTAT.

By setting this sunset date, businesses will experience a significant shift, as for the first time since the GST's introduction, market forces will largely dictate prices without the scrutiny of anti-profiteering regulations. Moore Singhi's Executive Director Rajat Mohan noted that this deregulation aims to simplify GST compliance and allow businesses greater flexibility in pricing strategies.

AKM Global's Partner-Tax, Sandeep Sehgal, indicated that the new measures aim to enhance efficiency by reducing the workload on the CCI and ensuring that cases are dealt with under the tax-specific mechanisms of GSTAT.

(With inputs from agencies.)