Major electronics and FMCG conglomerates have announced slashing down of prices on commodities before the September 22 deadline of the implementation of the GST rate rationalisation.
The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) is one such, which markets dairy items under the Amul brand. It announced on Saturday a reduction of retail prices of more than 700 product packs including ghee, butter, ice cream, bakery and frozen snacks, saying it will pass on the benefits of the GST rate cut to consumers.
"This revision is across the range of product categories like butter, ghee, UHT milk, ice cream, cheese, paneer, chocolates, bakery range, frozen dairy and potato snacks, condensed milk, peanut spread, malt-based drink, etc.," the federation said in a statement.
Amul butter is therefore going to be priced at ₹58 (100 gm) from ₹62; its ghee has come down to ₹610 per litre after a deduction of ₹40; the processed cheese block (1kg) has been cut by ₹30 to ₹545 per kg; and frozen paneer (200 gm) will be ₹95 from September 22 as against ₹99 previously.
The federation, which is owned by 36 lakh farmers, said it believes the slashed down prices will boost demand for dairy products, leading to a growth in its turnover.
"Amul believes the reduction in prices will spur consumption of a wide range of dairy products, particularly ice cream, cheese and butter as the per capita consumption remains very low in India, creating a large growth opportunity," the statement said.
Earlier, Mother Dairy had announced price cuts on its products from September 22.
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In electronics, leading appliance makers have reduced prices of room air conditioners by up to ₹4,500, and of dishwashers, by up to ₹8,000.
Earlier this month, the GST Council had decided to reduce duty on air conditioners and dishwashers from 28 per cent to 18 per cent.
With September 22 being the first day of the Navratri festival, the start of the festive season, retailers are expecting huge sales running in double digits.
Leading players, such as Voltas, Daikin, Godrej Appliances, Panasonic, and Haier, have already come out with a new revised price list.
Some AC manufacturers, along with their dealers, had started pre-booking of units at reduced prices, anticipating pent-up demand as lower GST rates take effect, and are quite buoyed by the initial consumers' response.
Besides room ACs, shop owners have also extended GST benefits to their variable refrigerant volume (VRF) air conditioners, which are meant for large buildings or small commercial setups, along with light commercial air conditioners (cassette type split AC) and tower AC.
Godrej Appliance, for instance, has reduced the prices between ₹8,550 and ₹12,450 on cassettes and tower ACs; while on split AC of the invertor type, the MRP reduction ranges from ₹3,200 to ₹5,900.
Haier’s Gravity (1.6 ton inverter) AC are reduced between ₹3,905 to ₹46,085; and there is a ₹3,202 reduction on Kinouchi AI (1.5 ton 4 star) AC which is now priced at ₹37,788.
Leading RAC maker Voltas has reduced the MRP of its fixed-speed window AC to ₹39,590 from ₹42,990; and its inverter window AC to ₹43,290 from ₹46,990.
Daikin's 1 ton 5-star inverter split AC price has been slashed to ₹18,890 from ₹20,500. Its 1.5-ton 5-star inverter split AC, meanwhile, which costed ₹73,800, is now priced at ₹68,020; while its 1.8-ton 5-star inverter split AC costs ₹84,980 from the previous ₹92,200.
It’s 3-ton ACs, meanwhile are priced at: 1.0 ton hot and cold inverter split AC at ₹46,730 from ₹50,700; its 1.5-ton hot and cold inverter split AC at ₹56,500 from ₹61,300.
LG Electronics too has reduced prices on their entry-level 1 ton, 3-star inverter split ACs to ₹32,890 after slashing ₹2,800. The MRP of LG's 1.5-ton inverter split AC has been reduced by 3,600 to ₹42,390 and the company has cut down prices on its 2-ton split AC by ₹4,400 to ₹55,490.
Panasonic India, meanwhile, has trimmed the prices of its 1.5-tonne window AC that now starts at ₹42,000 and goes up to ₹46,000, from a previous price range of ₹45,650 and ₹49,990, respectively. Prices of its fixed-speed split AC (1.0 ton) starts from ₹42,400 and goes up to ₹63,900 (for 2.0 ton) from ₹46,100 and ₹69,400, respectively.
Dishwashers too, are cheaper from Monday, with makers expecting this niche segment to expand its base as it will become affordable for its mainly urban consumers.
BSH Home Appliances, a leading manufacturer in the dishwasher segment, has reduced prices by up to ₹8,000 post-GST cut rollout. Its entry-level model will now cost ₹45,000 from ₹49,000 previously, and on its top-end model will be priced at ₹96,500 from ₹104,500 after a reduction of ₹8,000.
Voltas Beko, a joint venture between the Tata group’s Voltas and Turkish firm Arçelik, has also reduced prices of its dishwashers, now priced at ₹23,390 from ₹25,990.
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