TaxRambling.com

On a Wednesday, kids gather at my house after school and I provide arvo tea. One of the favourites are “flip” yoghurts, being a small container with yoghurt on one side and bits to be mixed into the yoghurt on the other… Well did you know the tax controversy this causes???

Recently the AAT had to decided if Chobani Flip Strawberry Shortcake flavoured yoghurt (with cookie and choc chips in the side container) was subject to GST.

Until 2021 it was treated as GST free but the Commissioner changed his mind and so we ended up with this test case with both sides funded by the Government as it is obviously so important (yes your tax dollars have been spent on answering this question).

It all comes down to this…

38-3   Food that is not GST-free  (1)   A supply is not GST-free under section 38-2 if it is a supply of: (c) food of a kind specified in the third column of the table in clause 1 of Schedule 1 , or food that is a combination of one or more foods at least one of which is food of such a kind; or…

Yoghurt can be GST-free, but cookies and chocolate can not, so is Chobani Flip Strawberry Shortcake flavoured yoghurt with cookie and choc chips a “combination” of yoghurt and cookies, or is it two different, uncombined, items?

It only took at AAT member 166 paragraphs to conclude these, while not combined in their packaging, where intended to be combined, so the item was not GST-free…

You can sleep sound tonight knowing this has been solved… unless it get appealed to the Federal Court.