A week after GST 2.0 came into effect, only under a third of consumers see benefits: Survey

A week after the GST rate cuts came into effect, a LocalCircles survey today revealed that consumers have seen very limited benefits on packaged food items and medicines. This stands in stark contrast to other categories, such as white goods and automobiles, where the benefits have been passed on more effectively, the survey showed.

Nearly half of respondents reported receiving no benefit on packaged food items, including paneer, milk, and bottled water. Only 10% said they received the full GST reduction, while 21% saw partial benefit.

For medicines, more than 60% of consumers said prices remained unchanged despite the GST cut to 5% from 12–18%. Only 10% reported receiving the full benefit, and 24% noted partial reductions.

Meanwhile, appliances, white goods, and consumer electronics fared slightly better. Around 34% of consumers received the full GST benefit, 33% saw partial reductions, with only a third reporting no change in prices.

Automobiles are the only category where GST benefits have been widely realised, with nearly 90% of consumers reporting they received either full or partial advantage from the rate reduction.

The survey received over 78,000 responses from 27,000 consumers with almost two-thirds of the respondents coming from Tier 1 and 2 cities, with a majority of respondents being male and 34% being female.

The survey found that the full impact of the GST cuts is yet to reach most consumers, with the notable exception of automobiles. The GST rate reduction introduced earlier this month aimed to make around 80 goods and services, ranging from everyday essentials to aspirational items, more affordable.

The survey pointed that retailers and online platforms are struggling to adjust the selling prices due to old stock, lack of directives, or missing revised price lists, which has caused the delay in the pass-through of benefits to end consumers.

Interestingly, the report highlights that while GST cuts have made aspirational items more accessible to the middle class, prices for essential goods have largely remained unchanged, continuing to impact lower-income households.