The National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) found the M/s Lifestyle International Pvt. Ltd. guilty of profiteering.
The Applicant alleged that the Respondent, M/s Lifestyle International Pvt. Ltd. had not passed on the benefit of rate reduction to the Applicant as well as other customers as per the provisions of Section 171 (1) of the CGST Act, 2017.
The DGAP reported that the Respondent had denied the benefit of rate reduction to the customers amounting to Rs. 15,861, pertaining to the period w.e.f. November 15, 2017 to January 31, 2018 and he had thus indulged in profiteering and violation of the provisions of Section 171(1).
The Authority headed by the Chairman Dr. B.N. Sharma noted that the Respondent has not passed on the benefit of rate reduction to the Applicant as well as other customers who had purchased various items from him during the period and hence, the Respondent has violated the provisions of Section 171 (1) of the CGST Act, 2017.
However, the NAA did not impose any penalty and stated that no penalty provisions were in existence in the period when the Respondent had violated the provisions of Section 171(1), the penalty prescribed under Section 171 (3A) cannot be imposed on the Respondent retrospectively.
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