BHUBANESWAR: In the first such crackdown after goods and services tax (GST) was implemented, the food supplies and consumer welfare department on Thursday conducted raid at some malls in the city to check whether they put revised price tags complying the new tax regime.The officers of Legal Metrology raided two malls of the big companies and found the stores had not put new GST price tag on the old stocks of the malls. They later issued notice to the manager of the retail stores of the malls for not following the Centre's guidelines."We have issued notice to the retail stores of two companies for not pasting new GST prices on the commodities, whose price is decreased after the GST came into effect from July 1. According to the law, they will pay Rs 25,000 as fine," said controller, Legal Metrology, Anant Kumar Bhuyan.He said some traders have put price tag on the products that witnessed rise in price after new tax came into effect. But the same traders don't paste price tags after fall of prices of the commodities. "We have informed all the district collectors to keep a strict vigil on the shops and malls. We also informed the traders' associations to caution their members not to indulge in illegal activities like cheating people by not pasting new price tags," he added.Food supplies minister Surya Narayan Patro said the Centre has issued guidelines to dispose the old packaged food items lying in their outlets by end of September. They have been told to sell those goods within the stipulated time frame only after pasting the GST price tag. "If anybody violates these norms, we will take action against them," he added."I have bought some rice and suji packets from a mall in Indradhanu market in Nayapalli, but I can't find any new price tag. Several shops in the city are still selling the old stocks without pasting new price tags," said Ritesh Behera, a resident of Nayapalli.The government has asked to reduce the prices of commodities like rice, pulses, suji, wheat, flour, maida and edible oils because its prices are gone down after new taxation.

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