CAIT asks govt to allow sales of old stocks till March

Old stocks as on June 30 having mandatory MRP labelling could be sold only up to Sept 30 by pasting new MRP stickers and from Oct 1, packed goods having new MRP could be sold only

Traders body CAIT on Friday claimed that goods worth Rs 6 lakh crore may become redundant if the last date for using MRP-labelled old stock is not extended beyond September 30.

It said with implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July, it was provided that stocks as on June 30 having mandatory MRP labeling could be sold only up to September 30 by pasting new MRP stickers and from October 1, packed goods having new printed MRP could be sold only.

"It is estimated that goods pertaining to period prior to July worth about Rs 9 lakh crore are still in the market and out of which, about Rs 6 lakh crore is in packaged condition having MRP.

"If the date is not extended, then this huge quantum of goods cannot be sold in the market from October 1," it said in a statement.

Under such a scenario, it said, the government should extend the date up to March 31, 2018, to facilitate traders to liquidate old stock.