Industry unhappy with 5% GST on wheat flour
05-Sep-2025 12:55 PM
New Delhi. Although GST Council has made most of the items of daily use cheaper by reducing the tax rate as a next generation reform, but 5% GST has been retained on a very important product- wheat flour, whereas many types of breads etc. are made from it.
The roller flour industry is unhappy with this. It says that wheat flour should have been kept in the list of zero tax products, which would have given relief to the common people.
It is worth mentioning that after the amendment made in the GST module, now the tax rate on packaged roti, chapati, khakra, pizza bread, parantha, parotta and other types of Indian breads etc. has been made zero, whereas earlier it was taxed at 12 and 18 percent.
There was no tax on wheat flour sold in bags (sacks) weighing more than 25 kg and this has been retained in the new amendment as well.
Since roti manufacturers usually purchase flour and maida etc. in bulk pack sizes weighing more than 25 kg for making packaged rotis, they do not have to pay any tax on it. However, packaged flour sold in pack sizes weighing less than 25 kg is subject to 5% GST.
Navneet Chitlangia, President, Roller Flour Millers Federation of India (RFMFI) said that since wheat flour is usually purchased by a normal family in packs weighing less than 25 kg, such consumers will have to pay 5% tax on rotis made at home. This situation should change.
According to the President, the GST exemption has not been extended to rotis (breads) made in Indian homes, whereas common people make much more rotis at home as compared to packaged breads.
According to Navneet Chitlangia, it seems that the fact that homemade rotis dominate Indian kitchens has been completely ignored while rotis bought from the market are not very popular.
According to rough estimates, about 80 percent of the flour in the country is consumed in homes, so the industry has urged the government to include flour, maida, semolina and gram flour etc. in the list of zero tax products of GST.