Praneeta Prakash 
The Consumer Council has revealed that some food businesses have deliberately increased their prices ahead of the VAT reduction from 15 to 12.5 percent, which takes effect today.
Following checks on over 530 businesses, the Council found unjustified price hikes in restaurants and supermarkets.
Council Chief Executive Seema Shandil states some food outlets have raised prices to cancel out the savings that should have gone to customers.
“We have seen at one of these restaurants in a prominent food court the curry meal price jumping from $2 to $3. A two-person meal costs $4. Chicken pie: the cost of chicken pie at one prominent supermarket increased by $2.”
Shandil said consumers are the backbone of every business, and fair pricing is key.
“So many of these businesses may justify these increases by citing vague increases in ingredients or labor costs and so forth. However, our monitoring shows that no corresponding market changes have been observed that could validate such price increases. So the timing is highly suspicious.”
Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad had earlier warned businesses not to engage in unfair pricing.
The Council states it will continue to monitor prices to ensure consumers get the full benefit of the VAT cut.
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