Odd Pricing on Biscuits Continues Despite GST Reforms

Odd pricing on small packs of biscuits, which kicked in following implementation of the GST 2.0 reforms in September, continues to be visible on shop shelves. This is even as other categories such as snacks and shampoos, which also push low-unit packs (LUPs), have moved back to Rs 2, Rs 5 and Rs 10 price points by increasing grammage. For instance, a Rs 5 pack of Parle-G biscuits is available for Rs 4.5 in stores, and a Rs 10 pack of the same brand is available for Rs 8.9. Similarly, Rs 10-packs of Britannia’s Nice Time coconut biscuits, are available for Rs 9 in stores, following GST-led price cuts. LUPs constitute over 50% of sales for a number of FMCG categories from personal care to food & beverages. Executives at Britannia were not immediately available for comment. But Mayank Shah, vice-president, Parle Products, the maker of Parle-G and other biscuit brands, confirmed that odd pricing on its small packs would continue at least for the next one to two months. “We are rolling out the new packs with increased grammage into stores at the moment. This will take a couple of months. Till then, consumers will continue to see packs with odd pricing in stores,” he said. While some experts and FMCG executives say that odd pricing does not matter since most consumers now use united payments interface (UPI) or digital applications to make payments, some say that coinage is still an issue, especially in rural areas. “While UPI is widely used by many consumers due to its convenience and ease of payment, but in many areas, especially, rural, coinage matters,” Mohit Malhotra, CEO, Dabur India, said. Industry sources say that it is not uncommon for trade to pocket the extra Rs 1 in the case of odd pricing, arguing with consumers over the lack of availability of change. Restoring regular price points quickly, therefore, becomes critical, they said. Shah also indicated that FMCG companies were given a labelling relief in September which permitted them to exhaust existing inventory till March 31, 2026 instead of December 31, 2025. Prior to this, FMCG companies were asked to exhaust existing inventory by the calendar year-end to avoid confusion in terms of pricing among trade and consumers. Conversations with dealers and distributors reveal that most companies are moving quickly to introduce new stock post the GST 2.0 reforms. “The new stock has landed in stores. Larger packs above Rs 20 are seeing price cuts, while those up to Rs 20 are seeing grammage increase,” Dhairyashil Patil, national president, All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF), an apex body of distributors, said. Shah says that the company is adding extra biscuits into its small packs to increase grammage. For instance, a Rs 5 pack which had nine biscuits earlier, now has 10 biscuits. While a Rs 10 pack, which had 18 biscuits earlier, now has two more to make it 20 biscuits in all, he said.