The Patina government in its attempt to match the VAT of gluten -free bread to the conventional one and will continue more expensive

The new PAN standard prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has finally listened to the Celiac collective in its historical claim to match gluten -free bread with the conventional one, which directly affects VAT, more expensive in the case without gluten. However, the draft prepared by the government as written makes the vast majority of gluten without bread maintaining 10% VAT compared to the reduced 4% that the conventional one has.

The Ministry has initiated a hearing to present allegations to the change or repeal of several regulatory provisions regarding food quality, including that related to the definition of gluten -free bread, which is the bread that people must consume with celiac disease, which affects approximately 1% of the population.

Thus, Celiac associations have presented their proposals so that gluten -free bread, which was currently considered a special bread – which made it a superior VAT – can be equated to the common.

Although the drafting of the ministry includes the elaborated with gluten -free flours, from the Federation of Celiac Associations they explain that the current proposal for the modification of the regulations does not contemplate the differences in its elaboration, «which You need a greater number of ingredients (mainly starches) to obtain organoleptic characteristics similar to bread with gluten «.

This means that it does not comply with the minimum of flours required to be considered common, taxed with 4%, and practically its totality are declared “special”, whose VAT is 10%.

The allegations can Send until next February 12 and the different associations of Spain, integrated into the FACE, have issued their own so that the norm that regulates the PAN adapts “to the specific characteristics of gluten -free bread.”

Ideally, according to the president of the FACE, Aaron Santana, is that the loaves so far considered special by their method of elaboration are actually common bread, which would facilitate the integration of gluten exempt, and only enter that category that those that They have characteristics that really do it special, “such as seeds or other condiments, or bread sticks.”