IN THE last eight months, no complaints have been received from consumers against businesses using the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as an excuse for profiteering.
This is in sharp contract to the 274 complaints received by the Committee Against GST Profiteering (CAP) in the months following the GST hike in July 2007, when it was raised from 5 to 7 per cent.
Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister of Trade and Industry, gave these figures in a written reply to Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade GRC) on Monday.
Mr Seah had asked about measures by the ministry to ensure businesses do not profiteer by maintaining high prices despite the recent fall in prices of commodities, like oil and rice.
Mr Lim said high prices were not always due to profiteering but a result of changes in supply and demand in Singapore's competitive and open economy. While consumers expect prices to adjust to falling prices of commodities, there is often a time lag between import and retail prices, said Mr Lim.
The reason is that retailers often buy in bulk or order in advance and the prices are different from current market levels, he added.
'Ultimately, market competition as defined by the presence of many buyers and many sellers would provide the best defence against unreasonable price increases,' he said.
But there may be some businesses that maintain high prices unreasonably, said Mr Lim, urging consumers to make informed purchases by referring to the price surveys on groceries the consumer association publishes regularly on its website.
He also said consumers can report alleged profiteering cases to the consumer association, which 'will not hesitate to investigate further'.
