Tamil Nadu restaurant saga: Ambiguity over GST food rates in spotlight

The GST rates on goods are based on the harmonised system of nomenclature (HSN) codes

The managing director (MD) of a famous restaurant chain in Tamil Nadu supposedly apologising to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Coimbatore on Wednesday has triggered a political controversy. Even if the political part of the incident is left aside, the development reminds one of ambiguities in goods and services tax (GST) rates for various products, particularly food items.

The MD, D Srinivasan, had told the minister at an industry event there was 5 per cent GST on sweets but 12 per cent on savouries, and 18 per cent on cream-filled buns, whereas there was no GST on