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Hindustan Unilever Ltd, one of the largest FMCG player in the market, stated that it is considering legal options against National Anti Profiteering Authority after the GST watchdog found HUL guilty of not passing on rate cut benefits to consumers.
HUL in its regulatory filing said that the Goods and Service Tax Anti-profiteering Authority passed an order against the company on Dec. 24 for depositing Rs 223 crore. In response, HUL added NAA made “a narrow interpretation of the law” and did not “take into account well-established industry practice backed by law.”
HUL presented the point that “no methodology has been determined by NAA as required under law to determine if the benefit has been passed or not. Given there is divergence on some basic issues, HUL will consider legal options available to it.”
In the same filing, HUL said: “In the absence of set rules and guidelines on profiteering, HUL has gone by the spirit of the law, and passed on the entire benefit received under GST to consumers—either through reduction in prices or through increase in grammage.”
NAA in its order has said, “Since the respondent (HUL) has already deposited an amount of Rs 160.23 crore in the Central CWF (consumer welfare fund), he is hereby directed to deposit an amount of Rs 31.45 crore in the central CWF and the balance amount of Rs 191.68 crore in CWFs of the states.”
