Butter, condensed milk, dates, nuts, jams, mushrooms, namkeens to now get cheaper under GST 2.0

Consumers may soon feel relief in their household expenses as the GST Council considers lowering the tax on several popular food items. The fitment committee has proposed that products such as butter, condensed milk, jams, mushrooms, dates, nuts, and namkeens move from the current 12% GST slab to just 5%. If implemented, this shift will directly reduce prices for millions of households while also benefiting bakeries, sweet shops, and packaged food manufacturers.

Butter and condensed milk, staples for cooking and dessert-making, are likely to witness a notable drop in cost. Jams and namkeens, found in almost every Indian household, would also become more affordable. Likewise, mushrooms-widely regarded as a healthy food—and dry fruits like dates and nuts, essential during festivals and daily diets, are set to gain from this rationalisation.

The key reason for doing away with the 12% slab, as explained in Council documents, is to simplify the rate structure. The four-tier GST framework is considered unnecessarily complex, and eliminating the 12% bracket would bring greater clarity for both consumers and businesses. It was also highlighted that the 18% slab contributes the maximum revenue (about 65%), and hence maintaining that rate while trimming down the middle slab of 12% which only contributes 5% revenue makes the structure more efficient without hurting collections.

The final call on these changes will rest with the GST Council, which is scheduled to meet on 3rd and 4th September in New Delhi. If approved, the move will be a significant step toward GST 2.0 and a more consumer-friendly tax regime.