Govt directs e-commerce giants to launch 100-day ‘GST Bachat Utsav’ campaign

The government has reportedly directed leading e-commerce companies to roll out a 100-day nationwide awareness drive to highlight the impact of recent GST rate cuts.

The campaign, branded as 'GST Bachat Utsav', will begin on September 22 and run across major platforms including Reliance Retail, Amazon, Flipkart, Zepto, Zomato, Blinkit, Paytm, Meesho and Uber, as per an NDTV report.

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At a meeting on September 15, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) instructed platforms to ensure that the reduced GST rates are clearly reflected on customer invoices. Bills must specify 'GST discounts' so that buyers directly see the savings. Marketplace operators such as Amazon and Flipkart have also been asked to guide their seller-partners to pass on the tax benefits to end consumers.

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To assess the effectiveness of the initiative, companies will need to submit fortnightly reports to the government, outlining the total value of GST benefits transferred during the campaign.

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The government is banking on the wide consumer base of e-commerce firms to spread awareness about GST 2.0 reforms, which lowered tax rates across multiple categories, including consumer electronics, household appliances, apparel and packaged foods.