The Delhi High Court on Monday upheld the validity of legal provisions pertaining to the National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA).
The verdict was given by a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma on a batch of cases comprising over 100 petitions by several entities, including Philips India, Reckitt Benckiser, Gillette India and Procter and Gamble Home Products etc.
“We have upheld the constitutional validity of section 171 (of CGST Act) as well as rules 122, 124, 126, 127, 129, 133 and 134 of the (CGST) rules of 2017,” the court said.
The court stated that section 171 mandates that a tax foregone has to be passed on as commensurate reduction in price and it is a consumer welfare measure introduced in public interest.
The rules in question pertain to the establishment and functioning of the Anti-Profiteering Authority.
While pronouncing the order, the court further it was possible that there may be cases of arbitrary exercise of power under the anti-profiteering mechanism but the remedy for the same is to set aside the order of merits and not striking down the provision itself which invests such power in the authority.
A detailed copy of the order is awaited.
