Pre-packaged export goods attract GST when frozen shrimp packs meet Legal Metrology packaging requirements.

Processed frozen shrimps exported in printed or plain pouches or boxes, and then placed in master cartons of up to 25 kg, were treated as pre-packaged and labelled goods for GST purposes. Applying the GST rate notifications and the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, the AAR held that a commodity packed without the purchaser being present and in a predetermined quantity is a pre-packaged commodity, and that export packages are not excluded from this regime. The absence of printing on the outer carton did not change the tax character because the inner packs were already pre-packed in specified quantities. Accordingly, the exemption for goods other than pre-packaged and labelled goods did not apply, and GST was payable at the applicable rate.

---

---

Issues: Whether export of processed frozen shrimps packed in printed or plain pouches or boxes and further packed in master cartons of up to 25 kg each is exigible to GST as pre-packaged and labelled goods.

Analysis: The supply was examined in the context of the GST rate notifications for goods under HSN 0306 and the exemption entry for frozen goods other than pre-packaged and labelled goods. The expression "pre-packaged and labelled" was applied with reference to the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, under which a commodity placed in a package without the purchaser being present and having a pre-determined quantity is treated as a pre-packaged commodity, and where declarations are required on the package. The ruling reasoned that there is no exclusion in the Legal Metrology regime for export packages, and that both printed inner packs and plain inner packs of 25 kg or less, when packed for an unknown ultimate buyer, satisfy the statutory character of pre-packaged goods requiring declarations. It was further held that the presence or absence of printing on the outer carton does not alter the tax character once the inner packs are pre-packed in specified quantities.

Conclusion: The export of processed frozen shrimps in the described packs attracts GST at applicable rates, and the exemption for goods other than pre-packaged and labelled goods does not apply.

---