Key Points
No, these arent off-brand philosophy questions, but rather all-too-real vexatious tax issues under Indias Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime...
So, the issue raised by Sreenivasan wouldnt exist if he was talking about food sold at his restaurants for consumption then and thereall of it would attract a uniform 5 percent GST..
Yet, if an item is classified as yoghurt or other fermented or acidified milk and cream, it will attract a GST rate of 5 percent regardless of whether it is pre-packaged or not...
So the ice cream sold in parlours would attract 18 percent GST while that sold in a restaurant as dessert would be taxed at 5 percent...
This confusion continues today, with newspapers reporting as recently as August this year that several bakeries in Mumbai and Ahmedabad had received notices from the GST authorities because they had been paying GST at 5 percent as if they were restaurants when, in fact, they were not...
