Daily essentials and food products will be cheaper from Monday (September 22, 2025), as leading FMCG companies have slashed prices, extending GST cut benefits to consumers.

The move is expected to lead to a spike in consumption and a surge in sales during the upcoming festival season, which starts with the Navratra celebrations.

FMCG companies have extended benefits of GST 2.0 with immediate reduction on price without any disruption, along with some discounts for festivals as they expect to enter a new growth phase after facing a few challenging quarters that saw persistent food inflation and slow pace of urban consumption.

Companies operating in the space of FMCG products have issued revised price lists with new MRPs on their products, including soaps, shampoo, baby diapers, toothpaste, razors, and after-shave lotions, effective from Monday (September 22, 2025).

Besides, firms operating in the food verticals have also slashed prices on products as snacks as namkeen and bhujia to sweets, coffee, tea, butter, ghee, ice-cream, chocolates, etc.

The makers have dispatched products with revised MRP tags to inventories of distributors, warehouses of e-coms and shelves of traditional kirana stores, absorbing the tax gap.

Moreover, existing stocks in the market have been aligned with revised new goods & service tax (GST) structure through special trade discounts and QPS schemes.

Leading FMCG firms such as Dabur, ITC, Procter & Gamble, Emami, Nestle, RCPL, Amul and HUL have come up with new price lists that have been communicated to their respective distributors and consumers through their respective websites or through advertisement in local dailies.

Home-grown firm Dabur has reduced the prices of Real Juice (pack of 1 Ltr) from ₹130 to ₹122 and Chyawanprakash (900 gm) from ₹475 to ₹440. It has also reduced the price of its Dabur Red and Meswak brand toothpastes (200 gm) to ₹135 from ₹153. Prices of digestive pills Hajmola (120 tab) have also been slashed to ₹65 from ₹70.

Nestle India has not only increased price of its instant noodles Maggi from 500 gm to 600 gm but also reduced the price from ₹120 to ₹116.

Similarly, it has also extended the price of Nescafé Classic (45gm) to ₹235, slashing the price of ₹30 and ₹95 on Nescafé Gold to ₹755.

ITC has slashed the price of Savlon (100 ml) to ₹374 from ₹400. It has reduced prices of cow ghee (1 litre) to ₹1,010 from ₹1,080 and Sunfeast Marie Light (956 gm pack) to ₹150 from ₹170.

Food & beverages major PepsiCo’s distributor Varun Beverages has slashed the prices of Tropica Apple Juice (1 litre) to ₹105 from ₹115, mango juice slice (1.2 litre) from ₹70 to ₹65 and Aquafina water bottle (1 litre) to ₹18 from ₹20. Prices of aerated-based drinks remain unchanged as they would continue to face 40% duty under GST 2.0.

GST 2.0 has two slabs of 5% and 18% as against the current four slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28%. Most daily essentials have been placed in the lower 5%, barring detergent and cosmetics, which remain under the earlier 18% slab.

FMCG products such as hair oil, soap, face powders, shampoos, toothbrushes, and toothpaste, along with all food items, will come under the lower slab of 5% from the present 18%.

Confectionery major Ferrero has reduced its popular chocolate spread Nutella by ₹50 to ₹399 for a pack of 350 gm and ₹100 on its chocolate Ferrero Rocher to ₹879 for 300 gm.

Similarly, dairy and food brand Amul has also slashed the prices of products, including ghee, butter, ice cream, and snacks. It has reduced butter prices (100 gm) from ₹62 to ₹58 and ghee (1 litre) to ₹610 from ₹650.

Amul’s paneer (200g) will cost ₹95 from ₹99, and the range of its ice cream will start from ₹9 to ₹550, down from the earlier ₹10 to ₹600.

A recent study report released by industry body FICCI estimates that GST 2.0 will result in a short-term revenue loss but this can be compensated by the broader consumption boost, improved compliance, and wider coverage over time.

The country’s fastest-growing FMCG firm, Reliance Consumer Products Ltd (RCPL) had slashed price of its cow ghee (1 litre) by ₹50 to 750 and its Glimmer and Get real Soaps (pack of 5) from ₹135 to ₹120.

Leading FMCG major Procter & Gamble has reduced the prices of products under brands Vicks, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Pampers (diapers), Gillette, Old Spice and Oral-B, among others.

As per the list, Vicks Action 500 Advance and Vicks Inhaler prices have been reduced from ₹69 to ₹64, as the GST rate has gone down from 12% to 5%t.

Home-grown FMCG firm Emami has reduced prices on Boroplus Antiseptic Cream, Navratna Ayurvedic Oil and talc, Zandu balm, etc.

Leading FMCG major HUL has also announced reducing prices of its consumer product range, including Dove shampoo, Horlicks, Kissan Jam, Bru Coffee, Lux and Lifebuoy Soaps, effective September 22.

Published – September 21, 2025 06:39 pm IST

Tiruvallur:

The district consumer forum here has directed ITC Ltd Food Division to pay a sum of Rs one lakh to a consumer for alleged unfair trade practice after he complained that packets of the corporate’s biscuit brand Sunfeast Marie Light had one biscuit lesser than that advertised on the wrapper.

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, in a recent order, also directed the company to “discontinue the selling of the disputed biscuits ‘Sunfeast Marie Light’ in Batch No.0502C36 with the specific endorsement.” It dismissed the company’s submission that the challenge made with regard to weight of biscuits would not apply. Complainant P Dillibabu of Chennai alleged there were only 15 biscuits inside the packets as against the advertised 16.

“It is argued by the learned counsel for the 1st opposite party (the company) that the product was sold only based on the weight and not on number of biscuits. Such arguments could not be accepted as the wrapper clearly provides the information to the buyers/consumers to purchase the product only based on the number of biscuits. The potential consumer would only see the wrapper to decide the purchase of the product as the product information available on the packing influences the consumer’s buying behavior and that the product information available on the wrapper or label plays a significant role in customer satisfaction,” the order said. In the present case, the paramount allegation is only with regard to lesser number of biscuits.

“Thus we answer the point accordingly holding that the 1st opposite party being the manufacturer and marketer had committed unfair trade practice and deficiency in service in misleading the consumers and that the complainant had successfully proved the same by sufficient admissible evidence,” it said.

While Dillibabu sought imposing Rs 100 crore fine on the company and the store that sold it and Rs 10 crore as compensation for the alleged act of unfair trade practice and deficiency in service, it said the reliefs sought for by the complainant was exorbitant.

The 2nd opposite party being the shop keeper had no role to play with respect to reduction in the number of biscuits. “Hence, complaint dismissed against him,” it said.

The consumer forum subsequently directed that Rs one lakh be given as compensation to Dillibabu by the company and another Rs 10,000 towards litigation expenses to be paid by it to him.

In its defence, ITC submitted that there was no deficiency or defect in the 76-gram biscuit packs of Sunfeast Marie Light in terms of the quantity that the packs were required to maintain under law.

Citing Legal Metrology Rules 2011, it contended that if a pre-packaged commodity has a declared net quantity between 50 gram to 100 gram, then a maximum permissible error in excess or in deficiency of 4.5 gram of the declared quantity was allowed on such items.

As per the rules, a package that has a declared weight of 76 g was permitted to weigh between 71.5 g to 80.5 g, it said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)