- Consuming salted popcorn in a movie theatre can attract up to 18 percent GST
- GST rate on popcorn bought with movie tickets is either 12 percent or 18 percent depending on the ticket price if it qualifies as a composite supply
- Ready-to-eat popcorn with salt and spices attracts 5 percent GST, but if pre-packaged and labeled, the rate is 12 percent
- Caramel popcorn is taxed at 18 percent GST
- Popcorn served in theatres usually attracts a 5 percent GST rate as it is considered a restaurant service unless bundled with cinema services which could raise the GST to 12 or 18 percent
- Online ticket booking often includes options for buying popcorn, snacks, and beverages usually with a discount
- The supply of these items with tickets could be considered either composite or mixed supply affecting the GST rate
- A cinema ticket priced below 100 rupees attracts 12 percent GST, and above 100 rupees attracts 18 percent GST
- Composite supply involves supplies that are naturally bundled and supplied together where the principal supply determines the GST rate
- Mixed supply involves independent supplies bundled together for a single price where the highest GST rate of the supplies is applied to the entire value
- There is a potential for higher GST rates to be applied if caramel popcorn is sold with a lower-priced movie ticket not qualifying as a composite supply
Source: a2ztaxcorp.com
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
