GST Update: No new Anti-Profiteering cases for Investigation to be taken up under GST from April 1, 2025

It’s the final call for anti-profiteering cases under the goods and services tax. The Centre has formally announced that April 1, 2025, will be the end date for anti-profiteering cases. Ongoing cases, however, will continue.

This would imply that firms would have the freedom to set their own prices for goods and services, without regard for GST’s anti-profiteering regulations, which require that the advantages of lower taxes be passed on to customers in the form of lower prices.

“The Central Government, based on the recommendations of the Goods and Services Tax Council, hereby appoints April 1, 2025, as the date from which the Authority referred to in the said section will not accept any request for examination as to whether input tax credits obtained by any registered person or a reduction in the tax rate have resulted in a commensurate reduction in the price of the goods or services supplied by that registered person,” said a notification by the finance ministry.

Meanwhile, in a separate notification, the finance ministry directed the principal bench of the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) to investigate whether input tax credits obtained by any registered person or a reduction in the tax rate resulted in a commensurate reduction in the price of goods or services supplied by that registered person. As a result, the GSTAT’s major bench will consider continuing anti-profiteering complaints, succeeding the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

In its June 22 meeting this year, the GST Council recommended a sunset provision of April 1, 2025, for the receipt of any new anti-profiteering applications.

According to a tax professional, anti-profiteering is a legal measure that ensures that the benefits of lowered tax rates or input credits are passed on to consumers in the form of cheaper prices, preventing businesses from benefitting unfairly from tax benefits.

“Effective April 1, 2025, the CCI will no longer accept requests to investigate such anti-profiteering cases.” This marks a shift in the adjudication of these cases, which will now fall under the specialised purview of the GSTAT, streamlining the process and strengthening the GST framework,” he said.

The move also aims to improve efficiency by reducing the burden on CCI and ensuring cases are resolved under GSTAT’s tax-specific mechanisms.