Questions

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how many reports has the Committee Against Profiteering received since the Committee was reconvened in March 2022; and (b) how many of these reports are substantiated.

Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how many cases of unjustified price increase on the pretext of GST increase have been received by the Committee Against Profiteering since July 2022; (b) since March 2022, how many of these cases have been taken to task eventually; and (c) whether the number of cases is expected to rise with the GST increase going live in January 2023.

Dr. Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the Committee Against Profiteering has received cases of businesses using the Goods and Services Tax (GST) increase as a pretext for any increase in prices beyond the GST rate change; and (b) if so, what measures have been taken.

Written Answer by Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong

1. Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to take Question Nos. 70 and 71 in the Order Paper together? And in my reply, I will also address written Question No. 11 filed by Dr Wan Rizal for today’s Sitting.

2. The Committee Against Profiteering (CAP) received 286 feedback submissions from 1 April 2022 to 31 January 2023. Of these, 26 cases involved specific allegations of GST misrepresentation. The CAP followed up on the feedback swiftly by working with partner agencies and organisations on the ground, including the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS), the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) and the People’s Association (PA) to engage the relevant businesses to seek the reasons for the price increases. Thus far, the businesses engaged have been cooperative and have committed to being more transparent about their pricing with consumers. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.