Even After GST Cut, McDonald’s Bill Reflects Same Amount. Twitter’s Unhappy With Their Meal!

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is one riddle that everyone wants to solve. But the moment you get any closer to cracking the code, the rules of the game get shuffled up.

Two days ago, the GST Council brought both AC and Non-AC restaurants under the 5% slab, as opposed to the previous 18% and 12% slabs respectively.

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So naturally, cue in lots of hoopla about cheaper restaurant bills and finally some uniformity in restaurant bills, irrespective of air conditioning being a part of the dining experience.

Alas, celebrated too soon.

Unfortunately, pictures of McDonald’s bills before and after GST played party poopers.

A Twitter user shared pictures of two McDonald’s bills, one issued before and the other after the 5% GST rule was implemented. The thing to note is that the total, even after the revised, lowered GST is the same in both bills!

The user, one Amogh Chaphalkar, clarified that the bill wasn’t his, but what mattered was pointing out the blatantly unfair practice. He even tagged Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s official Twitter handle. Jaitley is the Chairman of the GST Council.

If you’re wondering how this math was possible, take a closer look at the bills again.

As you can see, the price of the item in the first list is Rs. 120.34 + 18% GST.

However, in the second, revised GST bill, the price of the item has been increased to Rs. 135.24 + 5% GST, thus keeping the grand total the same as in the previous bill.

Twitter united in uproar and voiced their displeasure over the unjust practice.

1. Sadly, it is.

2. Et tu, McDonald’s Noida?

https://twitter.com/dhruvnoida/status/931103670044827648

3. Wasn’t this meant as a relief for the common man?

4. Are other restaurants doing it too?

5. Loot macha rakkhi hai!

McDonald’s India offered an explanation, citing removal of Input Tax Credit Credit as the reason for the increase in the base price of the products.

For the uninitiated, the input tax credit is a tax offset that restaurants can claim on the raw materials they use in their food against the tax they pay over their finished products. However, the GST Council, in their latest policy, has done away with this benefit.

Thus, to compensate for this loss, restaurants like McDonald’s may have resorted to such a practice.

However, many experts have claimed that while restaurants are likely to increase their menu prices, it does not translate to a higher bill amount. In fact, there is expected to be a marginal drop in the total bill. How? Here’s the math.

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Imagine your food bill, with 18% GST, is 2000 units. Then, with 5% GST, they should come down to, say, 1800 units.

But even if restaurants were to increase the prices of the dishes in their menu, the total, with the 5% GST, should still be around 1950 units.

Which, if you see, is still lesser and not the same as the previous bill, unlike McDonald’s.

This point echoed in Twitter users’ clapback to McDonald’s statement.

Safe to say, they weren’t happy with the explanation and wanted their fair billings.

1. Illogical much?

2. Illegal and unethical.

3. Convenient tactics, these.

4. Either way, the common man suffers.

5. Customer’s king no more?

GST has been the thorn in the side of several businesses, majorly because there are still several policies that require clarification and streamlining.

However, if this continues, there is no stopping the public from losing faith in the advantages of GST and actually thinking of it as the Gabbar Singh Tax! And that won’t make for a very happy meal, methinks!

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