INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
goods maker Procter Gamble did not pass on more than $35 million in tax benefits which were meant to have gone to its customers.Separately,
the authorities are also investigating South Korea's Samsung Electronics and US drug maker Johnson Johnson among others, the senior
government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.PG, Samsung and JJ all deny any wrongdoing.Country's National
Anti-Profiteering Authority - a quasi-judicial body set up following the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax in 2017, found PG had not
reduced prices on many products after a tax cut on those items, the official said.In a statement, PG said: "As a responsible corporate, PG
has always been committed to passing the net benefit of GST rate reduction to the consumers." PG said it had passed on the rollbacks and
communicated this via advertising in mass media.Samsung also said it had acted in accordance with the rules."Samsung reduced its sales price
according to GST (Goods and Services Tax) reduction with effect from January 1, 2019
We are cooperating with DGAP (Directorate General of Anti Profiteering) on this matter," the company said in a statement.A JJ spokeswoman
said via email that the company had passed on all benefits to customers, after the government exempted sanitary napkins from the goods and
services tax."The matter is currently under adjudication and we continue to work closely with the authorities to address any queries that
reduced GST to 18 per cent from 28 per cent, and to 5 per cent from 12 per cent on many products.The government also exempted some goods
that had earlier been taxed."PG has been issued a notice to submit its reply on April 29 and explain why action should not be taken against
it," the official, with direct knowledge of the inquiry, said
The official said the authority would pass a final order in the next three months.After an initial investigation, companies are given an
opportunity to defend themselves before the authority passes a final order, which can be challenged in India's higher courts.Get the
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