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Prices fall as feminine hygiene businesses embrace GST exemption

tamponsAlmost all feminine hygiene companies removed GST from their menstrual products since January 1, 2019 when states and territories unanimously agreed to exempt the 10 per cent tax, the ACCC found.

The ACCC examined the prices, costs and profits relating to the supply of menstrual products in Australia, and found that overall prices for tampons and pads, menstrual cups, maternity pads and leak-proof underwear had come down despite no legal obligation to reduce the price.

“The vast majority of retailers sampled were well prepared for the removal of the GST, and reduced retail prices of menstrual products by the expected 9.1 per cent,” ACCC acting chair Delia Rickard said.

The ACCC found that in a small number of cases, system and human errors caused a few businesses to either remove GST but keep prices unchanged, or fail to remove GST for a short time until the errors were identified.

“There was no legal requirement for businesses to reduce their prices, but post 1 January 2019 and the GST removal, most consumers would have expected the tax ‘saving’ to result in lower prices,” Rickard added.

Rounding policies, errors in previous pricing and already heavily reduced clearance products also reduced shelf price changes in some instances.

The ACCC said it is engaging with a small number of online retailers, often based overseas, that may still be charging GST on menstrual products.

“Where retailers made oversights, these were quickly corrected and complaints to the ACCC and the Australian Taxation Office from consumers were extremely low,” Rickard said.

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