More details on the VAT reduction on foodstuffs

New details have emerged about the planned reduction in VAT on food through a draft ministerial decree in mid-March (See also the article from February 2026). It is clear that, from 1 July, the VAT rate on selected food items will be reduced to 4.9 % in order to help ease the financial burden of everyday shopping.

The group of favoured foodstuffs (according to the Combined Nomenclature) includes:

• Milk (also lactose-free) and dairy products such as yoghurt, butter etc.;
• (fresh) hen's eggs;
• Vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, peas, asparagus, etc. The benefit applies regardless of whether the vegetables are fresh, chilled, or frozen.
• Fruit or edible fruits - this applies for example to fresh apples, pears, fresh stone fruit (e.g. apricots, cherries, peaches, plums);
• Rice;
• Wheat flour and semolina;
• Pasta, but neither cooked, filled, nor otherwise prepared;
• Bread and pastries (also gluten-free);
• Table salt.

Restaurant sales are excluded from the reduced VAT rate – existing rates will continue to apply here, as only purchases from supermarkets or producers are intended to benefit.

Further legislative developments remain to be seen, as do the solutions to customs tariff issues related to the VAT reduction and questions concerning the cash register security regulation.

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