Popcorn finally pops into one GST slab: Now 5% across the board

The GST Council has moved all popcorn varieties-salted, packaged, caramel-into the 5% slab, effective September 22, simplifying tax rules and cutting prices for consumers

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The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Wednesday approved a two-tier tax structure and exempted individual health and life insurance premiums from GST. The move is part of a broader effort to simplify indirect taxation.

 

Amid these sweeping changes, one question popped up again — where does popcorn fit in?

 

What has changed now

Under the new two-slab GST structure, the Council has quietly settled the debate. All types of popcorn now fall into the 5 per cent category, effective September 22, 2025.

 

How it breaks down:

 

Salted/loose popcorn (extruded or expanded savoury products): 12 per cent down to 5 per cent

Packaged/branded salted popcorn: 12 per cent down to 5 per cent

Caramel-coated popcorn (sugar-based): 18 per cent down to 5 per cent

 

With the revisions, all popcorn products are aligned under the lowest slab.

 

From a compliance standpoint, it removes complexity and confusion. For consumers, it should shave a few rupees off the price. 

 

Three types of popcorn, one tax

In its last GST Council meeting in December 2024, the GST Council had announced different tax rates for the popular movie snack:

• 5 per cent on non-branded salted popcorn
• 12 per cent on pre-packaged branded variants
• 18 per cent on caramel popcorn, treated as sugar confectionery

Caramel popcorn triggers meme war

The backlash was swift. Memes flooded social media with netizens mocking the decision. One widely circulated image showed a packet of “salt caramel” popcorn, questioning how tax officials would classify it.

 

At the time, Sitharaman had defended the higher levy on caramel popcorn, citing the principle that products with added sugar were taxed separately.

 

However, critics argued that it created unnecessarily complicated matters for both businesses and consumers.

 

Even former Chief Economic Adviser K V Subramanian posted on X, “Complexity is a bureaucrat’s delight and citizens’ nightmare.”

 

The announcement was particularly surprising because many had anticipated key GST updates on issues such as exemptions on health insurance premiums for senior citizens or clearer guidelines on the taxation of gaming. 

 

Instead, the focus on popcorn came across as unexpected and even somewhat trivial compared to the other pressing issues on the table that were not addressed at the time.

 

The new uniform 5 per cent rate should lay the popcorn debate to rest once and for all.