Mango drink makers using less pulp content to 'circumvent' GST: Kanimozhi

DMK MP Kanimozhi writes to Union Minister Chirag Paswan, flagging reduced pulp in fruit drinks driven by GST evasion as hurting Tamil Nadu mango farmers

In a letter to Union Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Lok Sabha member Kanimozhi Karunanidhi has highlighted the distress that mango farmers in Tamil Nadu are facing because of a sharp reduction in pulp content in mango-based beverages.

 

In the letter, which she posted on her social media handle on Monday, Kanimozhi said pulp content has been reduced from 20 per cent in 2022 to 11 per cent in 2024. She said this decline is driven by companies attempting to “circumvent” higher goods and services tax (GST) rates and “misusing regulatory loopholes by rebranding products as ‘fruit drinks’ instead of ‘fruit juice’, which violates Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) norms”. 

 

According to Kanimozhi, manufacturers have resorted to this because drinks with more than 10 per cent real fruit content attract 28 per cent GST—the same as carbonated drinks. She said beverages with real fruit content below 10 per cent fall under the 18 per cent or lower GST slab.

 

The current regulation mandates a minimum of 10 per cent fruit content to label a product as ‘fruit juice’, but companies are now marketing products as ‘fruit-based beverages’ or ‘fruit drink’, which fall under a lower regulatory category that requires only 5 to 10 per cent fruit pulp, she said.

 

“I have urged the ministry to take immediate corrective measures to restore 20 per cent pulp usage and prevent dilution of standards affecting farmer livelihoods,” Kanimozhi said.