Recently, the finance ministry’s decision to raise the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on caramel popcorn from 5% to 18% has ignited a social media storm, trending under the hashtag #PopcornTax. The discussion began when Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman explained that caramelised popcorn is treated differently than traditional namkeen due to its added sugar content.
Shortly after the announcement, the GST Council clarified during its 55th meeting that the tax structure for popcorn would remain unchanged. However, the initial news led to a flurry of memes and online discussions, with users playfully speculating about other items that could be subject to GST.
Adding to the buzz, content creator Aryan Kataria took to the streets to prank unsuspecting individuals with absurd claims about GST. In a viral video titled “Telling people about weird GST rules,” Kataria approached people discussing on their phones, informing them that holding their phone in their right hand would incur a GST charge. Many were bewildered and complied by switching their phones to their left hand.
In one memorable moment, Kataria told an auto driver that leaving his shirt unbuttoned would also attract GST. The shocked driver responded, “Accha?” before hastily buttoning his shirt at Kataria’s suggestion.
The post with the caption, “Saas leta hu 18% GST lag jata hai 🥲🥲🥲,” resonated with many and garnered over 2.2 million views and thousands of likes and comments
While the video entertained many, it also sparked discussions about the gullibility of the public regarding new tax regulations. One viewer expressed concern, stating, “People believing in it makes me really worried,” while another remarked, “Stop giving ideas to our finance minister.”
GST council clarification
The GST Council in its meeting on December 21 clarified that popcorn will attract three kinds of GST rates based on its spice mix. Accordingly, ready-to-eat popcorn that is mixed with salt and spices attracts 5% GST if supplied as other than pre-packaged and labelled and 12% GST if supplied as pre-packaged and labelled. However, when popcorn is mixed with sugar thereby changing its character to sugar confectionary, such as caramel popcorn, it would attract 18% GST.
“It has been decided to regularise the issues for the past on ‘as is where is’ basis. There is no new imposition of any tax in this regard and is merely a clarification as certain field units were demanding different tax rates on the same. Therefore, it is a clarification being recommended by the GST Council to settle the disputes arising out of interpretation,” said an official statement after the meeting.