A month has passed since the drop in VAT on basic foods came into force, but, according to the OCU, this measure does not apply to 26% of products that they have analyzed in their latest price survey.
The Organization of Consumers and Users has analyzed 24 basic foods for sale online in the five largest supermarket chains in our country, verifying that not only have many not applied the discount, but in many cases the products, both fresh and packaged, have gone up in price.
A first study on January 11 already showed failures in the application of the reduction that should have been applied with the measure established by the last Council of Ministers of 2022, but now they denounce greater irregularities and possible breaches of the Royal Decree, which are more noticeable in the virtual stores of El Corte Inglés, Alcampo and Carrefoursomewhat less in Dia and Mercadona.
As possible causes, the OCU points to a number of factors, highlighting unfavorable rounding, more expensive brands, price increases at source, the plastic tax or, directly, VAT rebates that are not applied and price increases. For this reason, the organization asks the Government for greater control by publishing price data to better analyze the situation in all businesses in the country, and that “punish in an exemplary manner to those supermarkets that repeatedly have not applied the corresponding VAT reduction”.
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