Hyderabad: Goods packed by the supermarket and bearing its brand name might prove to be costly. Sainikpuri resident Sridhar B. discovered this when he shopped at the Ratnadeep Store in AS Raonagar. Almost all the items he had purchased were taxed GST separately. While he asked at the checkout counter, he was informed that the products were priced that way because they were packaged by Ratnadeep. Since it was branded in the name of the shop, the products were taxable.
Mr Sridhar said, “I was shocked on seeing the bill as almost 99 per cent of my purchases were levied GST. There is still a lot of grey area under GST so I wanted to be know if these packets are taxable.” He wrote to the GST Cell in Secunderabad commissionerate for details. Assistant commissioner (GST) Tarun Neogi replied to Mr Sridhar via mail stating, “Dried leguminous vegetables, whether shelled, skinned, split or the flour of dried leguminous vegetables or cereals in a unit container are taxable if they bear a registered brand name.”
Officials say that supermarkets cannot use the same leeway for all products by packaging them under their label and levying separate GST. An official said, “Most supermarkets sell their own brands of pulses these days but customers should be careful to see if any products are being packaged at the checkout counter in a plastic bag with the supermarket’s name. Items with less shelf life cannot be packaged by supermarkets.”
Mr Sridhar said, “It is not merely pulses but I was taxed on sugar, pudina and so on because they bore the Ratnadeep tag. There needs to be stricter inspections and more clarity regarding the same so that customers are not looted.” Asked about the taxation, an official Ratnadeep, AS Rao Nagar, said, “We are open to any feedback from the customer. We requested him to lodge a complaint as well. Goods packaged by the store will be taxed under the new policy.”
