Online outcry over food price

“Several eateries in the city have increased prices of dishes. Owners argue that they need to do this to make ends meet,” said Vinu Karthik, a filmmaker. Many took to the social media to vent their frustration posting ‘before’ and ‘after’ bills to show the disparity in pricing. Twitter user Amogh Chaphalkar was enraged that even fast-food chain McDonalds had resorted to the same action – “Shame on you @mcdonaldsindia Not passing on GST benefit to customers should be a crime @FinMinIndia Please take action!”

The official handle of the popular food chain though, responded immediately, justifying that operating costs had gone up due to the scrapping of input tax credit (ITC) for restaurants. 

Co-founder of restaurant 80 Degrees East, Pranesh Padmanabhan said that this measure is necessary. “Starred hotels that supplement their income from rooms and not just food, can charge 18% GST rate, as well as ITC – but we can’t! I don’t see how this is fair, ” he said. 

M Ravi, President of the Tamil Nadu Hotels Association (TNHA) said no restaurant is hiking prices. “We are asking owners to display pre and post-GST menu rates outside. We don’t have the benefit of ITC, but we are adjusting, as priority is customer satisfaction. A 13% drop in GST is no cause for major alarm, and thus, most owners are happy to welcome this.”