Tricity goes on shopping spree amid GST cut, Navratra fervour

The GST 2.0 rollout on September 22 along with the ongoing festive season has turned the Tricity markets into a consumer carnival.

From automobile showrooms to electronics stores, insurance counters to Verka booths, residents are seizing the double bonanza offers. As a result, there are record bookings, jam-packed shops and a palpable relief for residents in their household budget.

The GST 2.0 has not only trimmed household bills, but also supercharged demand, with banks and insurers further revving it up.

At automobile showrooms, the demand has surged overnight. “Bookings for vehicles have jumped post-GST cut. Small cars have become much cheaper, while bigger cars saw a small difference. The demand increased since the first Navratra. Both Navratras and the GST cut have given a double push to the demand,” said Himanshu Katyal, General Manager, Auto Vogue Pvt Ltd, a Maruti Nexa dealership in Chandigarh.

At Hyundai’s Mohali dealership, sales executive Manisha said: “The demand has increased two to three times. Bookings soared from 30 to 67 in the past three days.”

Kamalpreet Singh of Globe Toyota added: “Daily bookings have more than doubled, from 20 earlier to nearly 50 now. We’re running short of Fortuner and Innova models because supply can’t match the demand.”

Sub-4 metre cars and two-wheelers up to 350cc are

now taxed at 18% instead of 28%, dropping their price by Rs 46,000 to over Rs 1.2 lakh and fuelling the surge.

Consumer checklist

Check invoice: Must show new GST rates (5%/18%), not old ones

Compare prices: Verify discounts passed on

Ask questions: Insist on pre-GST, post-GST breakdown

Need to file complaint?: Call 1800-120-4545 or write to DC’s office

Spotting the wave, banks have launched special finance offers. Vandana Kalayat, SBI branch manager in Kumbra, said: “We’ve rolled out a special car loan scheme with revised lower interest rates, effective till October 31, to cash in on GST 2.0 and Navratri buying.”

Chandigarh’s electronics market is abuzz too. With major appliances getting 10% cheaper, sales have multiplied. “Washing machines, refrigerators, ACs, LEDs and microwaves are all cheaper by around 10%. Sales have doubled and even tripled in the past three days. For us dealers too, investments have eased as gross costs are down by 10%,” said Surinder Singh Bai Jee, the owner of Surindra Radios in Sector 22.

Retailers in Sectors 17, 18 and 19, Manimajra, Mohali and Panchkula reported similar spikes, with many long-postponed purchases being closed this week.

At the grassroots, Verka’s price cuts are visible at every booth. “Ghee, paneer and butter have all become cheaper, giving relief to poor and middle-class consumers in managing their daily budget,” said Sonu, the owner of a Verka booth in Sector 69. Official rate cuts are steep — ghee cheaper by Rs 30-35/kg, butter by Rs 30/kg, paneer by Rs 15/kg and UHT milk by Rs 2/litre.

The GST 2.0 has also unlocked a new wave of demand in the insurance sector. Baldev Raj Sharma, an LIC agent in Panchkula, said he booked 18 life and health policies in just three days. “It was much needed and will go a long way in securing the health and lives of common people who earlier could not afford the hefty levy on such policies,” he said.

What consumers say

“We’d been delaying buying a washing machine for six months. After the GST cut, it finally felt affordable. We saved nearly Rs 5,000,” said Arushi Malhotra, a homemaker and a Sector 21 resident.

“I just booked my first bike. The price drop of over Rs 20,000 made it possible within my budget,” said Parul, a PU law student.

“Weekly dairy bills have come down by Rs 150-Rs 200. For a middle-class family like ours, it is a real relief,” said Charu, a banker in Mohali.

“With SBI’s lower interest rate, my EMI for a new car is almost Rs 1,000 less per month,” said Sakshi Kansal, BPO professional, Panchkula.