The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has issued a clarification on the revised Goods and Services Tax (GST) applicable to popcorn, refuting reports that sugar-coated or caramel popcorns would be newly taxed at 18%. Earlier in the day, several reports had claimed that while popcorn mixed with salts and spices will be subject to 5% GST, Caramel popcorn will be taxed at 18%, which is the rate for sugar confectionery.
The reports said that Caramel popcorn will be taxed at 18%, as it contains sugar and falls under confectionery.
CBICโs clarification came on X as a reply to a post by journalist Rajdeep Sardesai on the social media platform making the same claim. In a now deleted post, Sardesai wrote, โThe POPCORN debate has been resolved at last! *Salted or spiced popcorn will now attract a uniform 5% GST, whether itโs sold loose or in pre-packaged form. *Caramel popcorn will be taxed at 18%. Bring on the salted popcorn folks!โ
Responding to this post, CBIC stated that the new GST for sugar confectionary is also 5%, not 18%. Therefore, Caramel popcorn will be taxed at 5%.
Dear @sardesairajdeep
All sugar confectionary items will now be taxed at 5%.
Kindly refrain from sharing incorrect information.
Please see below the latest rates in Annexure II. ๐https://t.co/JDkFFkuz2s https://t.co/pndcndGRfd pic.twitter.com/vlN0u7zJT2
โ CBIC (@cbic_india) September 4, 2025
The central board wrote, โDear @sardesairajdeep All sugar confectionary items will now be taxed at 5%. Kindly refrain from sharing incorrect information.โ
They added the link to the press releasing giving the list of new GST rates. The list shows that the GST for Sugar boiled confectionery has been reduced from 12% to 5%, and tax for Sugar confectionery is reduced from 18% to 5%. The list makes it clear that all items containing sugar will be now taxed at 5%, down from earlier 12% and 18% rates for various items.
Earlier, salted popcorn was taxed at 5% if sold loose and at 12% if it was sold in branded packaging. Caramel popcorn was taxed at 18%, irrespective of the packaging. This varied rate on popcorn had become a point of major debate at the time of its introduction.
