Packaging and paper bags are standard-rated (20% VAT) in the UK under HMRC VAT Notice 701/10, section 8.
Packaging and paper bags
20% VAT
Packaging and wrapping aren't reading matter, so they're standard-rated.
HMRC VAT Notice 701/10, section 8
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HMRC's A to Z is explicit about packaging: paper bags and wrapping paper are both named on the standard-rated side. The reasoning is the same one that runs through the whole notice. The zero rate is for things produced to be read. A printed box, bag, sleeve or wrap has a job other than being read, however much is printed on it. Food packaging follows the same rule; it's the packaging that's standard-rated, not the food.
What the item is for. If its job is to contain, carry or protect something, it's 20% however much is printed on it.
HMRC VAT Notice 701/10, section 8, HMRC's guidance on zero rating books and printed matter. See the notices we work from.
HMRC lists paper bags as standard-rated.
Listed as standard-rated in the same table.
A leaflet supplied to accompany a product is exactly what the zero rate covers. It's a separate item from the packaging.