Govt Spent ₹88.74 Crore On Advertising 'GST Bachat Utsav': Finance Ministry Tells Lok Sabha
The Union Government spent Rs 88.74 crore on advertising for the “GST Bachat Utsav," a publicity campaign to spread awareness about GST rate rationalisation, the Ministry of Finance informed the Lok Sabha in response to a question on March 9, 2026.
Responding to a question raised by Jagdish Chandra Barma Basunia, BJP MP from Cooch Behar, West Bengal, the Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, stated that the government incurred Rs 88.74 crore on advertising for the campaign. GST Bachat Utsav was a 100-day, nationwide, post-56th GST Council meeting campaign launched on September 22, 2025, to pass on reduced tax benefits to consumers.
The minister said the campaign followed GST rate rationalisation carried out at the 56th GST Council meeting on September 3, 2025. After the rate changes, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) monitored prices of key commodities such as packaged food items and medicines before and after September 22, 2025, to ensure that the benefits of reduced tax rates were passed on to consumers.
According to the reply, the government also held meetings with trade associations and line ministries to ensure that businesses passed on the benefits of the tax rate cuts to consumers.
The ministry also stated that the publicity campaign included print and social media outreach to spread awareness about the revised GST rates. In addition, the CBIC prepared frequently asked questions (FAQs) and published them on its website to guide consumers.
The FAQs directed consumers to the National Consumer Helpline or the Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism (INGRAM) portal if they had complaints about not receiving the benefit of GST rate reductions.
The ministry further informed the Lok Sabha that inputs from CBIC field formations indicate that the benefits of the GST rate reduction have largely been passed on to end consumers.