Union Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said on Monday that the government's National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has received close to 3,000 complaints related to GST since the implementation of reduced taxes.
"Everyday, we are receiving complaints. So far, we have received close to 3,000 consumer complaints. We are sending them to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) for further action," Khare told the media on the sidelines of an event.
Khare said the Consumer Affairs Ministry is closely monitoring instances of consumers being cheated through misleading discount practices to avoid passing on the benefits of reduced GST rates. The ministry is deploying artificial intelligence and chatbot technology to get a clearer picture of complaints across various sectors.
She said the ministry is analysing the complaints for use of such discounts which are misleading or carry misleading advertisements and follow unfair trade practices where benefits of reduced GST has not been passed on to the consumers.
"If there are too many complaints from different sectors, they will be qualified for a class action. We are keeping a watch on this. We will surely take notice of any instance where consumers are getting cheated with misleading discounts," said Khare.
The complaints mechanism comes amid concerns that retailers may not be fully passing on the benefit of GST rate reductions to consumers, and this has made the government strengthen its monitoring systems. Reduced GST rates were implemented across India from September 22 after major reforms approved in the 56th GST Council meeting held on September 3.
Also read: Groceries, medicines cars get cheaper as new GST rates kick in
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