The first dual-MRP stickers reached kirana shelves this week — the visible beginning of GST 2.0's transition season. For ninety days from September 22, packs carry both prices; the gap between them is the reform, printed.
The early pass-through announcements set the benchmark: two large FMCG houses have committed to full rate pass-through on staples, one has trimmed pack sizes instead — the shrinkflation route the dual-sticker rule exists to expose. Auto makers' September price lists, due within the fortnight, are the bigger tell: the 28-to-20 move on small cars is the segment's first real cut since 2018.
What to check as a shopper: the new MRP against the old on identical grammage (not the "new improved" pack); effective dates — old stock legally sells at old prices until cleared; and the QR on the sticker, which resolves to the notified rate schedule.
The complaint clock matters too: the anti-profiteering window runs twelve months from the appointed date, then competition takes over. Document the shelf now; the comparison is your evidence.
The reform's boldness was argued in this paper; its honesty gets audited at the till. We'll run the basket-tracking series through Diwali on our economy desk.
