Every customer entitled to benefit of tax rate reduction by way of reduced prices: NAA

State of Officer Vs Cilantro Diners Pvt. Ltd. (NAA)

The Respondent has further contended that the DGAP, while calculating the profiteered amount, had not considered the prices of products which had been reduced by him and that the DGAP has considered such impact as zero, ignoring the negative values. In this regard, we observe that no ‘netting off’ can be applied in the case of profiteering, as the benefit that has to be passed on to each customer has to be necessarily computed on each product supplied. Zeroing or netting off, as demanded by the Respondent, would imply that the amount of benefit not passed on certain supplies (to certain customers/ recipients) would be subtracted from the amount of any excess (more than commensurate) benefit passed on other products and the resultant amount would be determined as the profiteered amount. If this flawed methodology is applied the Respondent shall be entitled to subtract the amount of benefit which he has not passed on from the amount of such excess benefit which he has claimed to have passed, which will result in complete denial of benefit to the customers who were entitled to receive it. It has to be kept in mind that every recipient/ customer is entitled to the benefit of the tax rate reduction by way of reduced prices and Section 171 does not offer the Respondent to suo moto decide on any other modality to pass on the benefit of reduction in the rate of tax to his recipients. Therefore, any benefit of tax rate reduction passed on to a particular recipient or customer cannot be appropriated or adjusted against the benefit of tax rate reduction that ought to accrue to another recipient or customer. Therefore, the contention of the Respondent is not accepted.

The Respondent has relied upon the decision of this Authority in the case of M/s Flipkart vide Order No. 05/2018 dated 18^th July 2018 wherein it had been recorded that withdrawal of discounts was the prerogative of the supplier and did amount to profiteering. On a perusal of the above-cited case, it is observed that the issue in that case related to denial of discount of Rs. 5001-, which had been initially offered by the supplier to the buyer at the time of placing the order, but the same was withdrawn by the supplier at the time of supply. In these circumstances, it was held by this Authority that the withdrawal of such a discount does not amount to profiteering since the said discount offered had no connection with the base price of the products supplied. The facts of that case are totally at variance with the facts of the present case wherein the Respondent has claimed that giving discounts was a norm in the competitive world and a call of business. Therefore, the case cited above has no relevance in the context of the present case.

Based on the above facts the profiteered amount is determined as Rs. 20,80,087/- as has been computed in Annexure-11 of the DGAP Report dated 13.09.2019. Accordingly, the Respondent is directed to reduce his prices commensurately in terms of Rule 133 (3) (a) of the above Rules. Further, since the recipients of the benefit, as determined, are not identifiable, the Respondent is directed to deposit an amount of Rs. 20,80,087/- in two equal parts of Rs. 10,40,043.50/- each in the Central Consumer Welfare Fund and the Maharashtra Consumer Welfare Fund as per the provisions of Rule 133 (3) (c) of the CGST Rules 2017, along with interest payable @ 18% to be calculated starting from the dates on which the above amount was realized by the Respondent from his recipients till the date of its deposit. The aggregate amount of Rs. 20,80,087/- shall be deposited, as specified above, within a period of 3 months from the date of passing of this order failing which it shall be recovered by the concerned SGST Commissioner.

It is evident from the above narration of facts that the Respondent has denied the benefit of tax reduction to the customers in contravention of the provisions of Section 171 (1) of the CGST Act, 2017 and he has thus resorted to profiteering. Hence, he has committed an offence under section 171 (3A) of the CGST Act, 2017 and therefore, he is liable to penal action under the provisions of the above Section. Accordingly, a notice be issued to him directing him to explain why the penalty prescribed under Section 171 (3A) of the above Act read with Rule 133 (3) (d) of the CGST Rules, 2017 should not be imposed on him.

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