Mother Dairy slashes prices: GST cut benefits passed to consumers from September 22

Mother Dairy on Tuesday announced that it will pass on GST reduction benefits to consumers, making most of its products, including value-added dairy items and processed foods under the Safal brand, cheaper from September 22.

The wholly-owned subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) clarified that retail prices of pouch milk — everyday poly pack milk, including full cream, toned and cow milk — will remain unchanged as these have always been GST-exempt.

Following the GST revisions, UHT milk (tetra pack) and paneer will attract zero GST instead of the earlier 5 per cent, while other dairy products and value-added horticultural items will see rates drop from 12 per cent to 5 per cent.

The price reductions include toned tetra pack UH milk (1 litre) coming down from Rs 77 to Rs 75; double toned UHT milk (450 ml) from Rs 33 to Rs 32; paneer (200 gm) from Rs 95 to Rs 92; ghee carton pack (1 litre) from Rs 675 to Rs 645; and butter (100 gm) from Rs 62 to Rs 58.

Other products like Cassatta ice cream, pickles, tomato puree and Safal frozen French fries will also become cheaper.

“The recent GST reduction across a wide range of dairy and processed food products represents a progressive step that will significantly boost consumption and accelerate the adoption of safe, high-quality packaged offerings,” Mother Dairy managing director Manish Bandlish said in a statement.

With the tax revision, Mother Dairy’s entire portfolio now falls under either the exempted/nil category or the lowest 5 per cent slab.

As part of the GST Council’s reform process, only 5 and 18 per cent slabs will remain instead of the earlier four, benefiting several items with reduced rates effective September 22.

Bandlish expressed confidence that the measure would positively impact the entire value chain, with farmers benefiting from increased demand for packaged food products and consumers gaining from affordable pricing and greater access to packaged dairy and processed foods.