From April 1, zero VAT on food will cease to apply, which means a return to the previous 5% rate. This means price increases in stores, but several chains have announced that they intend to keep prices at the current level.
Several grocery chains announced on Thursday that in April they would keep the prices of products covered by the VAT increase unchanged.
“In April, we leave the prices of all products subject to 5% VAT increases at the pre-increase level,” it was written on the chain's website Lidl. Lidl's decision covers over 1,600 products, including: fruit, vegetables, dairy products, meat and cold cuts.
The retail chain also announced a similar decision Aldi. In April, the prices of products in the basic shopping basket will not be increased by VAT.
The products without the VAT increase at Aldi include: bread, fresh meat, butter, milk, eggs, yellow cheese, flour, groats, rice, and oils.
She announced a similar decision on Thursday Ladybird. The chain announced that “it will not change the regular prices of over 4,000 products in April (…) The exception here will be primarily bread, especially from small local suppliers, and vegetables and fruit, the prices of which change on an ongoing basis due to dependence on growing season.”
Network Kaufland also announced on Thursday that it would maintain the prices of over 10,000 products at the current level in April
Retail chains and the return to the VAT rate
Net answering our question about maintaining the zero VAT rate on food, informed us that “our priority is still that our customers can buy in our stores as cheaply as possible – that is why we will make every effort to ensure that the increase in the VAT rate on basic products from April 1 is as least noticeable.”
We also asked about the VAT rate on food Eurocash Group, which includes such store brands as Gama, Groszek, Lewiatan, frisco.pl, ABC and Delikatesy Centrum. A representative of the chain informed us that within the organized franchise and partner networks, decisions, “including those on consumer prices, are made locally by store owners. Therefore, it is difficult for us to take a position on maintaining prices on the shelves.”
The reduced VAT rate on basic food products is valid from February 1, 2022
Main photo source: PAP/Bartlomiej Magierowski