- Consumer Council of Fiji reports unjustified price increases by some eateries before VAT reduction
- VAT set to drop from 15 percent to 12.5 percent on August 1, 2025
- Evidence found of businesses raising prices to offset tax cut
- 530 market surveillances conducted before and after 2025-2026 National Budget announcement
- Some food establishments inflated prices, undermining policy’s financial relief goal
- Examples include price increases in fast-food curry meal, restaurant meals, pizza, and chicken pie
- CEO Seema Shandil calls it strategic manipulation of pricing
- Behaviour seen as unethical and sabotaging government’s policy intent
- Consumer Council urges businesses to act responsibly and pass on VAT reduction benefits
- Emphasizes importance of fair treatment of consumers for maintaining trust and market integrity
Source: fijitimes.com.fj
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
