Thiruvananthapuram: Finance minister Thomas Isaac has warned of strict action against traders who sell goods at higher prices in the name of GST in the state. From Monday onwards, chicken can be sold only at a price of Rs 87 per kg. Mr Isaac told reporters here on Friday that he had been getting complaints that many traders had not reduced the prices even after the introduction of GST. The poultry traders had refused to reduce the price even after a meeting with animal husbandry minister K. Raju and the finance minister on Friday. Mr Isaac pointed out that the price of chicken had gone up from Rs 134 per kg to Rs 140 per kg the week before the introduction of GST.
Chicken meat was exempted from GST. However, there was no reduction in the price. Finance minister Thomas Isaac urged people to resist the rise in price of chicken. "This is not acceptable. People should step in and resist the move to sell chicken at higher rates,” finance minister Thomas Isaac said. The prices of 52 items in Supplyco have come down after the GST. “If shopkeepers are still unwilling to reduce the prices, people can complain to the government. There will be severe action against such vendors,” Mr Isaac said. Squads will be deployed to check such unfair practices.
Meanwhile, many poultry merchants’ organisations dismissed the allegation that they were making huge profits in the name of GST. They claimed that the poultry farmers in the state had reduced their production because of the fear that the prices of chicken would go down with GST. Moreover, the poultry farmers in Tamil Nadu had increased the prices. However, they have assured that with the increase in domestic production, the prices of chicken would normalise soon.
