Question

Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry how does the Committee Against Profiteering evaluate the legitimacy of prices set by businesses, the process, and the details which businesses need to submit.

Written Answer by Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong

1. The role of the Committee Against Profiteering (CAP) is to review and investigate feedback on the unjustified rise in prices of essential products and services which use the GST increase as an excuse.

2. The CAP works with various agencies and organisations, including the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS), the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) and the People’s Association (PA) to review all feedback received. If there are grounds to suspect profiteering which uses the GST increase as an excuse, the CAP will engage the business involved to find out the reasons for the price increase and evaluate the explanations provided.

3. Businesses are expected to be transparent about their prices and not misrepresent the reasons for any price increase. The CAP feedback and review process has been designed such that while it is easy for consumers to provide feedback, it also does not impose any additional regulatory burden on businesses.