Pizza found itself among the top trends on Twitter India on Tuesday. The Italian delight - a comfort food for many - became the subject of a heated discussion among Twitter users. The reason behind this was a recent ruling that stated pizza toppings should be taxed at a higher rate of 18% as compared to pizza, which is taxed at 5%. According to the report by The Economic Times, GST rates on pizzas are decided on the basis of how they are prepared and where they are sold. While pizzas prepared and sold at restaurants attract 5% GST, pizza that is home-delivered comes in the 18% GST slab. Pizza base bought separately, however, is taxable at the rate of 12% as per GST norms.
The Haryana Appellate Authority for Advanced Ruling (AAAR) has stated that pizza topping is not pizza and thus should be classified differently for GST purposes. The authority stated on 10th March that the preparation method of pizza toppings is different from pizza, and thus should be taxed at 18% in the category of 'food preparation'. This could complicate the taxation process for many popular food chains and eateries selling pizzas through dine out or takeaway modes.
Twitter users too were left confused after reading about the tax ruling for pizza. This news drew the ire of several users, who reacted strongly to the news. "This should go down in our history books," wrote one user, while another stated, "Already pizza in restaurant, pizza base, pizza delivered home.. all attract different GST rates. Basically, DO NOT EAT PIZZA!"
Take a look at the reactions here:
(Also Read: Top 10 Most Bizarre Pizza Toppings Across The World)
This is not the first time a tax ruling has been hotly debated by the food community. In September 2021, industrialist Harsh Goenka had asked on Twitter about whether the shape of Papad affects the rate of tax charged on it. He wanted to know if square papad attracted GST while round papad was exempt from it. Later, an Indian tax body clarified the correct stance on this.
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