Rs 88.74 Crore Spent on GST Bachat Utsav: Pankaj Chaudhary

The GST Council, in its 56th Council Meeting held on September 3, 2025, had announced a reduction in tax rates on around 375 items. As a part of the government’s GST Bachat Utsav, the prices of electromicsm medicines, automobiles, etc. were reduced from September 22.

While replying to a question regarding the details of total expenditure on advertising for GST Bachat Utsav, the minister of state for finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, said that the total expenditure incurred by the government on the advertising for GST Bachat Utsav is Rs 88.74 crore.

Chaudhary said that based on inputs from CBIC field offices, most of the benefits from the GST rate cuts have been passed on to the final consumers.

He also said that the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is watching the prices of key goods such as packaged food items and medicines pre and post 22nd September, 2025, to check whether the GST benefits are passed on to the final consumers.

Meetings were also held with trade associations and officials from different ministries to ensure that businesses pass on the benefits of the reduced GST to the customers.

Chaudhary also shared that awareness campaigns were carried out through print media and social media to inform people about the GST rate changes. Additionally, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) were also uploaded on the CBIC website to help consumers. Taxpayers were guided to call the National Consumer Helpline or file queries or complaints on the INGRAM portal if they do not receive the benefits of the GST rate changes.