The list of products that would be exempt from value added tax (VAT) has been approved.
Legal Affairs Minister Prakash Ramadhar told reporters Thursday the legal notice would be publish in time for the measure to take effect as planned on November 15.
He said the full list would be published for the public to see the items that are not taxable. He added that if the change results in abuse government "would have to consider what legal avenues would be open to us to deal with that". However he said that in the first instance, "we want the market to regulate itself by free trade".
Ramadhar noted that he is aware of concerns that prices have been raised in anticipation of the change. He said he has met with wholesalers who have agreed to attend a meeting next Wednesday with the Supermarkets Association to discuss concerns such as price-gouging.
He said the full list would be published for the public to see the items that are not taxable. He added that if the change results in abuse government "would have to consider what legal avenues would be open to us to deal with that". However he said that in the first instance, "we want the market to regulate itself by free trade".
Ramadhar noted that he is aware of concerns that prices have been raised in anticipation of the change. He said he has met with wholesalers who have agreed to attend a meeting next Wednesday with the Supermarkets Association to discuss concerns such as price-gouging.
He added that the Prices Council can "track every aspect of the cost—transport costs, customs duty, etc—so that we would have a fair assessment as to the profit margin of certain food items."
Ramadhar explained that consumers have the power to monitor prices and act in their own interests if they experience any exploitation.
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