Edible straws: a snack or a drinking utensil?

With plastic straws off the shelves, manufacturers are looking for alternatives. For VAT purposes one straw is not the same as another, as a knowledge group position shows.

X sells flavoured straws, in strawberry and chocolate for instance. They are made from ingredients you can genuinely eat, have nutritional value and are vegan. They are intended to be consumed together with a drink.

Y, by contrast, sells straws made of dried pasta. They are environmentally friendly and biodegradable, but have no added flavours. They are a poor choice for hot drinks, because they cannot take the heat.

Are these foodstuffs?

The question is whether these straws are foodstuffs within the meaning of the Dutch VAT Act and therefore subject to 9% rather than 21% VAT. Under the explanatory notes, foodstuffs are food and drink evidently intended for human consumption. Products with both a functional purpose and a nutritional function can only fall within that heading where it is clear that, besides that functional purpose, they are also intended to be consumed alongside food and drink because of their particular flavour or composition.

X's straws are intended to be consumed with drinks and to add a particular flavour to them. They therefore meet the criteria for foodstuffs and fall under the reduced rate.

Y's dried pasta straws have a different primary purpose. They are intended above all as an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic straws, and are not specifically composed or sold for human consumption. They are not expected to be eaten after use, and their flavour must not transfer into the drink. They therefore do not meet the definition of foodstuffs and do not qualify for the reduced rate.

Why this matters in practice

This position shows once again that apparently comparable products can qualify differently for VAT. If you are unsure whether the 9% rate applies to your product, have it assessed.