Know the unexpected food items that fall under the hefty 18 per cent GST slab, because one or more of their ingredients or the preparation may contribute to it falling under a different product category under the new classification systems.
The Kerala snack, Pazhampori celebrates ripe nendran bananas. They are sliced, coated with an all-purpose flour batter that has turmeric, salt, soda. Perfect as a tea-time snack, except, be warned, they now attract, unfathomably, the highest GST for their classification. Time to switch over to its only 5 per cent taxed poorer relative, Unniappams.
Caramel popcorn is a delicious, crunchy snack of popped corn coated in a rich caramel sauce; the best treat for blockbuster movie nights, if you can afford it, because the caramel has ensured it falls, trickily, in another tax bracket.
Ice cream in India -- everyone's fave cold dessert -- is sold in many forms. The desi, cart-wallah ice cream does not bring on the kind of tax that branded, packaged ice creams are slapped with. Gola ki jay!
Waffles are a delicious breakfast or brunch treat -- that Nirmala Sitharaman does not eat -- prepared from flour, eggs, and milk, and topped with syrup, fruits, whipped cream, ice cream. Nowadays they make for an expensive breakfast with an 18 per cent tax the Finance Ministry feels they richly deserve.
Cakes come in umpteen flavours and styles, from classic vanilla to chocolate etc etc and depending on their ingredients their tax varies. Traditional mawa cake has a 5 per cent tax. Says ClearTax: 'Cakes and pastries have an 18 per cent GST rate. When topped with cream or chocolate, they fall under HSN code 1905'. So choose your cake carefully!
Pasta -- the Italian hot fave that Indians prefer with heaps of chilly flakes on top -- have a higher rate of tax. Its Indian equivalent, sevaiyan has 5 per cent tax, but all types of pasta attract 12 per cent or more. Next time make Sevaiyan Bolognese maybe without cheese (check the GST rate on that too).
Corn flakes is a quick and easy breakfast option that will set you back far, far, far, far more than a plate of idlis, vadas, dosa or poha. Settle for Dahi Poha, guys.
Our angrez days ka hangover for soup will cost ya! Any kind of soup or broth is automatically tagged with 18 per cent tax as per all the lamba, lamba GST rules, more complictaed than the Linnaean classification system. Time to switch to rasam (Shhh! MOF may not know it is called Mulligatawny Soup too).