LONDON–Britain’s High Court has ruled that Pringles are not a potato snack, and thus are not subject to value-added tax.
Yesterday’s ruling by Justice Nicholas Warren is expected to save millions for the manufacturer, Procter & Gamble Co.
Warren overruled a VAT Tribunal decision that Pringles should be subject to the 17.5 per cent tax because it met the definition of “potato crisps, potato sticks, potato puffs and similar products made from the potato, or from potato flour, or from potato starch.”
The judge found the salty snack stacked in a tube are only 42 per cent potato, and thus exempt.
Pringles don’t fulfill the legal definition of “potato crisp,” the British word for “chip,” allowing them to be sold tax free in Britain, Warren ruled. He didn’t say what Pringles are, if not potato.