There is great news for the common families of the country, and especially those who keep fast on festivals. Taking an important decision on September 3, the central government has announced a big reduction in GST on everyday food and kitchen items. These changes have been made under GST 2.0 and will come into effect from September 22, 2025, i.e., from the same day when this year's Navratri starts.

During Navratri, lakhs of people consume fruit and a fasting thali. These thalis usually include butter, cheese, milk, dates, dry fruits, fruits, ghee, and some special fast food like parathas, khakhra, etc. Now the tax on all these things has either been removed or reduced significantly. Due to this, the fast thali will also become cheaper.

How cheap will the Navratri special thali be?

Suppose that till now it used to cost around Rs 200 to prepare a fasting thali during the days of Navratri. A large part of this expense has increased due to taxes. But after the implementation of GST 2.0, the same thali will be prepared for about 160 to 170 rupees. That is, there can be a direct saving of 15 to 20%.

For example, dry fruits like cashews, almonds, pistachios, and dates used to attract 12% GST earlier, but now it has been reduced to 5%. At the same time, there will be no tax on things like milk, cheese, roti, khakhra, and paratha. Apart from this, tax on dairy products like butter, ghee, and condensed milk has also been reduced from 12% to 5%.

The tax burden will also be removed from the kitchen.

These changes will not only provide great relief to those who fast, but to every common household. Everyday items like UHT milk, packaged cheese, rotis and parathas will now be absolutely tax-free. This means that the tax that used to be levied on buying goods from the grocery store will now be reduced. Also, tax on prepared food products like biscuits, cakes, chocolates, ice cream and soups has been reduced from 18% to 5%.

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