Anti-profiteering Authority to be merged with Competition Commission

The National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) came into existence in 2017 and has received two extensions since then

National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) is all set to be subsumed into the Competition Commission of India (CCI), according to a report in Livemint. 

 

NAA is the anti-profiteering watchdog of GST. Its term ends in November, and no extension has been planned, per the report.

 

NAA came into existence in 2017 and has received two extensions since then.

 

Officials who spoke to Livemint said that NAA's investigation arm will continue to function in some form under CCI. The official said that the move will reduce the multiplicity of regulators as CCI can handle cases independently.

 

The implementation of anti-profiteering provisions in GST law has faced several challenges. According to the Livemint report, the plan is to transfer cases to CCI after NAA's term ends.

 

NAA's role is to make sure that the benefit of tax rate reduction reaches the consumer immediately. This has been the role of NAA primarily because the GST council has been rejigging the rates in the last five years. NAA has little to do when rates go up.

 

Authorities are still receiving several complaints about the early years of GST, saying that the benefit of the input tax credit has not been fully passed on to consumers. 

 

Sectors like eateries, cinemas, real estate, fast-moving consumer goods, etc., have faced NAA's scrutiny the most. In many cases, the regulator ordered the business to return the allegedly overcharged amounts to the consumer.