Consumers hoping for cheaper milk after the recent Goods and Services Tax (GST) overhaul may be disappointed. India’s largest dairy players, Amul and Mother Dairy, have clarified that prices of pouch milk — the daily essential for millions of households — remain unchanged, as it has always been exempt from GST.
The clarification comes amid speculation that prices of full cream, toned, and cow milk sold in pouches could fall by Rs 3 to Rs 4 under the new GST 2.0 framework. However, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) Managing Director Jayen Mehta, which markets Amul, dismissed such reports, stating, “There is no change proposed in prices of fresh pouch milk as there is no reduction in GST. It has always been zero percent GST on pouch milk.”
The price cut will instead apply to Ultra-High Temperature (UHT) processed milk, commonly sold in Tetra Packs, after the GST Council reduced the rate from 5 percent to nil. UHT milk, which undergoes heating at over 135°C for a few seconds to eliminate microorganisms, can be stored for several months without refrigeration. Mother Dairy confirmed that revised UHT prices have been rolled out across markets this week.
On September 3, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced sweeping changes to GST, calling them “Next-Gen Reforms” aimed at lowering living costs and boosting consumption. The 56th GST Council meeting merged the 12 percent and 28 percent slabs into two broad categories — 5 percent and 18 percent.
While the reform is expected to provide relief across sectors including healthcare, packaged food, and consumer goods, the country’s most consumed dairy product — pouch milk — will remain untouched. For now, households can expect cheaper UHT milk, but their morning milk packets will continue to cost the same.
