Automakers asked to display GST price posters at all dealerships

Executives at automobile firms are now getting posters designed and sending them to the ministry for approval before sending them to print for display

The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has asked automobile companies — carmakers as well as two-wheeler manufacturers — to display posters showing a comparison of old and new prices, post the recent goods and services tax (GST) rationalisation, at all dealerships across the country.

 

Routing the instructions through the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), the ministry also stated that the posters should carry the photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Government officials and industry executives confirmed this development to Business Standard.

 

Executives at automobile firms are now getting posters designed and sending them to the ministry for approval before display.

 

  

Whether the cost of printing and distributing these posters will be borne by companies, dealers, or divided between the two remains an open question.

 

One executive said the posters may vary depending on the local language of the dealership’s location, raising doubts on whether each version would require separate approval from the ministry. 

“There is no precedent for this activity. So, we have to see if we need approval for just the main poster — which would be in English — or for a poster developed for each language,” an industry executive said.

 

Another industry source said that the automobile industry will be spending at least ₹20–30 crore on this activity. These posters will be placed at dealerships by the end of this week.

 

Luxury car companies have been kept out of the poster-printing mandate.

 

Business Standard sent queries regarding this matter to MHI, Siam, 11 carmakers and eight two-wheeler companies. But there was no response at press time.

 

Major car companies such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Motors, Toyota and Kia have already announced that they will pass full benefits of GST rate reduction to customers. This has reduced prices of all car models.

 

The GST Council had last Wednesday cut tax on small cars (less than 4 metres in length and under 1200 cc engine capacity for petrol and 1500 cc for diesel) to 18 per cent from 29-31 per cent (including cess).