Humble banana fritters may get cheaper by 10%

FINALLY, banana fritters—the humble ‘pazhampori’—are likely to get cheaper by 10% across bakeries in the state, following the nationwide GST tax rationalisation that has reduced the number of slabs to just two.

- RAJESH RAVI @ Kochi

Banana fritters, along with traditional snacks like ‘vada’, ‘ada’, and ‘kozhukatta’, have been moved to the lower slab of 5% from the 18% slab on which they were taxed earlier. Products like mixture and wafers that came under 12% slab earlier have also been placed in the lower slab of 5%. As a result, bakeries in the state are planning to reduce the effective selling price by 7-10% after rationalising their cost structure, according to Vijesh Viswanath, CEO of Bakery B, which has around 50 retail outlets in Ernakulam and its suburbs.

“Banana fritters will become cheaper by ₹1 for those priced around ₹10 per piece. Big snack manufacturers and bakers have in-principle decided to lower the selling price,” he said.