GST 2.0 simplifies the tax structure, exempts essential food items, and reduces rates on processed foods, offering relief to consumers.
Vanshika verma | Sep 9, 2025 |
GST 2.0: Tax-Free Essentials and Lower Rates on Processed Foods to Support Consumers and Small Enterprise
The GST Council in its recent 56th meeting held on September 3, 2025 made the suggestions related to GST tax rates changes. This new changes gives relief to common man, aspirational middle class, individuals and measures for facilitation of trade in GST.
Benefits of the GST rate rationalization:
Under 56th meeting of GST Council the council has reduced the GST structure to two main rates:
However earlier the GST structure was divided into four slabs- 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.
With the implementation of the new GST rates, the food-processing sector has seen significant gains, as a majority of products now attract only 5% GST. It provides economic growth through following:
Following are the major processed food products on which GST rates have been reduced:
| S No | Product Description | GST (%) | |
| From | To | ||
| 1 | Ultra-High Temperature (UHT) milk | 5% | Nil |
| 2 | Condensed milk | 12% | 5% |
| 3 | Almonds | 12% | 5% |
| 4 | Malt, whether or not roasted | 18% | 5% |
| 5 | Sugar boiled confectionery | 12% | 5% |
| 6 | Sugar confectionery | 18% | 5% |
| 7 | Cocoa butter, fat and oil and Cocoa powder | 18% | 5% |
| 8 | Chocolates and other food preparations containing cocoa | 18% | 5% |
| 9 | Pasta, whether or not cooked or stuffed (with meat or other substances) or otherwise prepared, such as spaghetti, macaroni, noodles, lasagne, gnocchi, ravioli, cannelloni; couscous | 12% | 5% |
| 10 | Pastry, cakes, biscuits and other bakers’ wares, whether or not containing cocoa; communion wafers, empty cachets of a kind suitable for pharmaceutical use, sealing wafers, rice paper and similar products | 18% | 5% |
| 11 | Extruded or expanded products, savoury or salted | 12% | 5% |
| 12 | Vegetables, fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants, prepared or preserved by vinegar or acetic acid | 12% | 5% |
| 13 | Jams, fruit jellies, marmalades, fruit or nut purée and fruit or nut pastes | 12% | 5% |
| 14 | Fruit or nut juices (including grape must) and vegetable juices | 12% | 5% |
| 15 | Soups and broths and preparations therefor; homogenized composite food preparations | 18% | 5% |
| 16 | Ice cream and other edible ice, whether or not containing cocoa | 18% | 5% |
| 17 | Namkeens, bhujia, mixture, chabena and similar edible preparations | 12% | 5% |
| 18 | Plant-based milk drinks, ready for direct consumption as beverages | 18% | 5% |
| 19 | Soya milk drinks | 12% | 5% |
| 20 | Fruit pulp or fruit juice based drinks (other than Carbonated Beverages of Fruit Drink or Carbonated Beverages with Fruit Juice) | 12% | 5% |
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