Traders not passing GST benefits to consumers: Survey

New Delhi, Sep 14 (IANS) A consumer survey of more than 45,000 respondents suggests that manufacturers and traders are not passing on the benefits of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to the customers.

In the poll conducted by the LocalCircles citizen engegement platform, a majority of 54 per cent citizens said their monthly costs had gone up by 30 per cent due to GST, while 20 per cent said there has been no impact.

A substantial portion of people said they did not know the monthly cost impact as they did not monitor it very closely.

For 51 per cent, monthly grocery expenses increased between 0 to 30 per cent, seven per cent said it reduced and 26 per cent said there was no impact.

In the another poll, 47 per cent people said that their monthly medical expenses have increased in the last two months. Five per cent said it had decreased post GST, 29 per cent said it was the same.

Around 39 per cent of the people said that traders in their area are insisting on cash transactions and not issuing a proper GST invoice. Twenty-eight per cent said traders were taking cash and digital payments but without a proper GST invoice.

Only 18 per cent said that traders were accepting both cash and digital payments and giving proper GST invoices.

The last poll asked citizens how their costs related to discretionary items like mobiles, computers, appliances, hardware, furnishings and apparel et al. been impacted.

For 51 per cent, it has increased and only six per cent said it had decreased by 0 to 30 per cent.

It was more or less the same for 30 per cent of the respondents.