GST on Biscuits in India — Now a Flat 5%

It is 5% for all biscuits from 22 September 2025. Earlier, most biscuits attracted 18% and only economy biscuits priced below ₹100/kg were at 5%. GST 2.0 removed that distinction and placed every biscuit under a single 5% rate.

Yes. The GST 2.0 reform (announced 3 September 2025, effective 22 September 2025) reduced GST on biscuits to a flat 5%. Standard and premium biscuits that were taxed at 18% now attract only 5%, and the old ₹100/kg threshold that separated 5% from 18% has been withdrawn.

Before 22 September 2025, biscuits sold below ₹100 per kilogram (typically Parle-G and basic glucose biscuits) attracted 5%, while most other biscuits — Marie, cream, butter, cookies, crackers and premium varieties — attracted 18%. That two-tier structure ended with GST 2.0.

Parle-G glucose biscuits are taxed at 5% GST. They were already at 5% under the old below-₹100/kg rule, and they remain at 5% under the new uniform biscuit rate — so nothing changed for Parle-G specifically.

5% from 22 September 2025. Cream biscuits (Oreo, Hide & Seek), premium cookies (Dark Fantasy, Good Day) and similar packs were taxed at 18% earlier because they were priced above ₹100/kg; under GST 2.0 they now attract the same 5% as basic biscuits.

Yes. All branded biscuits — Britannia, Parle, ITC Sunfeast, McVitie's and others — fall under HSN 1905 and are taxed at 5% from 22 September 2025, whether they are economy or premium variants.

Biscuits are classified under heading 1905 — bread, pastry, cakes, biscuits and other bakers' wares. Sweet biscuits fall under HSN 1905 31, wafers and waffles under 1905 32, rusk and toast under 1905 40, and other bakers' wares under 1905 90. All biscuits in this family are taxed at 5% from 22 September 2025.

No. The ₹100/kg test — which decided whether a biscuit was taxed at 5% or 18% — was withdrawn when GST 2.0 introduced a single 5% rate for all biscuits from 22 September 2025. Manufacturers no longer need to calculate MRP ÷ net weight to pick a rate.

Rusk and toast (HSN 1905 40) and wafers and waffle biscuits (HSN 1905 32) are taxed at 5% along with the rest of heading 1905 from 22 September 2025. Confirm the exact 8-digit HSN for your product on the CBIC rate finder before invoicing.

Yes. Biscuits taxed at 5% are a taxable supply (not exempt), so registered manufacturers and traders can claim full input tax credit on inputs — flour, sugar, palm oil, packaging, machinery and input services — matched against their GSTR-2B. Only composition-scheme dealers cannot claim ITC.

Yes. With output at 5% but many inputs (packaging, machinery) at 12% or 18%, biscuit manufacturers can accumulate more input GST than output GST — an inverted duty structure. The unutilised ITC on inputs may be claimable as a refund under the CGST Rules; a practitioner can assess and file it.

A biscuit business supplies goods, so registration is mandatory once aggregate turnover crosses ₹40 lakh in a financial year (₹20 lakh in special-category states). Businesses making inter-state supplies or selling through e-commerce operators generally need to register regardless of turnover.

For biscuits that were earlier taxed at 18% — most cream biscuits, cookies and premium packs — the drop to 5% reduced the tax component, so consumers benefit through lower prices or larger grammage. Economy biscuits already at 5% (like Parle-G) see no change from the rate itself.

The rate depends on the time of supply, not the manufacturing date. Supplies (invoices/despatches) made on or after 22 September 2025 attract 5%; those made earlier attracted the old rate. Where invoice and payment dates straddle the change, apply the time-of-supply rules under the CGST Act.

Cakes, pastries and other bakers' wares under HSN 1905 broadly moved to 5% under GST 2.0 as well, though restaurant/bakery-counter service and certain preparations can differ. Confirm the specific product and mode of supply on the GST portal or with a TaxClue expert before invoicing.