Subway Bread isn’t Bread, says Ireland’s Supreme Court

LONDON, KOMPAS.com - Subway bread is not bread due to its high levels of sugar, ruled Ireland’s Supreme Court.

Bread sold by the fast-food chain contains so much sugar that it cannot be legally defined as bread.

Ireland’s Subway franchise, brought by Bookfinders Ltd., is now on course to pay value-added tax for its bread products.

The ruling over whether Subway bread is bread or not stemmed from a tax dispute in which Bookfinders Ltd. argued that some of its takeaway products — including teas, coffees, and heated sandwiches — were not liable for value-added tax.

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With the appeal rejected by a panel of judges Tuesday, the clear-cut decision is made in that the fast-food chain’s bread is not a “staple food” meaning the company is liable to tax over its baked goods.

“There is no dispute that the bread supplied by Subway in its heated sandwiches has a sugar content of 10 precent of the weight of the flour included in the dough, and thus exceeds the 2 percent specified,” the judgment read.

The law makes a distinction between “bread as a staple food” and other baked goods “which are, or approach, confectionery or fancy baked goods”, the judgment said.

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Subway disagreed with the characterization in a statement.