You can beat a classic, but biscuit manufacturer McVitie’s has decided to change things up for 2021. Its famous Jaffa Cake range will be getting two brand new flavours - cherry and passion fruit. A new take on a classic The two new flavours will be sandwiched between the iconic dark chocolate and springy sponge layers of a standard orange Jaffa Cake. Previously Jaffa Cakes fans have seen pineapple, lemon and lime, strawberry and most recently, a festive orange and cranberry special edition flavours. The new product’s blurb states: “Turn your afternoon into a tropical pool party all without leaving your desk,” which might be just the vibe we need during a dark and dreary January. Jaffa Cakes cherry and passion fruit flavours are both available in recyclable sharing boxes of 10 from supermarkets in the UK & Ireland. They will cost £1.20 per pack. Is a Jaffa Cake a cake or a biscuit? Believe it or not, the question of whether Jaffa Cakes are cakes or biscuits actually became a matter for the courts to decide. In the UK, value added tax is payable on chocolate covered biscuits - but not chocolate covered cakes. McVitie’s classified Jaffa Cakes as cakes, and in 1991 had to defend this categorisation in a VAT tribunal. The government explains: “Customs and Excise had accepted since the start of VAT that Jaffa Cakes were zero-rated as cakes, but always had misgivings about whether this was correct. “Following a review, the department reversed its view of the liability. Jaffa Cakes were then ruled to be biscuits partly covered in chocolate.” At this point, McVitie’s appealed against this decision, prompting the VAT tribunal. Jaffa Cakes were assessed using the following criteria during the tribunal: The court found in favour of McVitie’s and stated that, legally, Jaffa Cakes are considered a cake, which means that McVitie’s doesn’t have to pay VAT on Jaffa Cakes in the UK. The Irish Revenue Commissioners also ruled in favour of Jaffa Cakes being cakes due to the fact that their moisture content is greater than 12 per cent.
