CBIC Fact-Checks Journalist Rajdeep Sardesai Over His Claims Of 18% GST On Caramel Popcorn

New Delhi: The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), the statutory body responsible for administering indirect taxes under the Ministry of Finance, fact-checked journalist Rajdeep Sardesai on Thursday regarding the latest GST reforms.

In a now-deleted post on X, the journalist had claimed that caramel popcorn would be taxed at 18%.

“The POPCORN debate has been resolved at last! Salted or spiced popcorn will now attract a uniform 5% GST, whether it's sold loose or in pre-packaged form. Caramel popcorn will be taxed at 18%. Bring on the salted popcorn folks!” the post read.

CBIC was quick to respond, sharing a screenshot of the post and stating:

“Dear @sardesairajdeep, all sugar confectionery items will now be taxed at 5%. Kindly refrain from sharing incorrect information. Please see below the latest rates in Annexure II.”

Rajdeep Rectifies Error

In a sepearte post on X Sardesai said,"Clarification: @cbic_india has clarified that ALL popcorn will have GST at 5%. Whether loose or packaged, or caramel. Earlier reports had said salted popcorn at 5% and caramel at 18% because of sugar element. Now, ALL sugar confectionary products will be at 5%."

Last year, popcorn became a topic of heated debate after GST rates differentiated between types: loose salted popcorn was taxed at 5%, packaged popcorn at 12%, and caramel popcorn at 18%.

However, under the new GST reforms, the inclusion of all sugar confectionery items under the 5% tax bracket effectively brings this popular snack into the same category. The revised rates will come into effect from 22 September.

The “popcorn controversy” has been around since GST was first rolled out in July 2017. Initially, loose popcorn was exempt from tax while packaged popcorn attracted 12 per cent GST.