Household food expenses to drop after tax slash
No tax on UHT milk, paneer, pizza bread, rotis, and khakhras
image for illustrative purpose
New Delhi: A head of the festive season, the GST Council, led by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, has announced significant reduction or tax exemption on several food items, packaged food and daily essentials. UHT milk, paneer, pizza bread, rotis, and khakhras will now have zero tax after GST 2.0, reduced from 5 per cent. Parathas and parottas, previously taxed at 18 per cent, are now in the nil bracket.
GST on key dairy items like butter, ghee, and cheese has decreased from 12 per cent to 5 per cent. Prices for condensed milk and various packaged foods, including jams, sauces, pickles, and fruit juices, will come down.
Dry fruits and nuts, including almonds, cashews, pistachios, and dates, will now be taxed at 5 per cent instead of 12 per cent. Biscuits, cakes, chocolates, cornflakes, soups, and ice cream will also see a tax reduction to 5 per cent from 18 per cent. The move was announced by the GST council even as inflation is cooling, with headline retail inflation dropping to 1.55 per cent in July, the lowest since June 2017. Food inflation has also slipped into negative territory (–1.76 per cent), the lowest since January 2019.
