AI Drafter 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (11) TMI 56
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....Act respectively) by M/s. Kalyan Aqua & Marine Exports India Private Limited (hereinafter referred to as applicant), registered under the State Goods & Services Tax Act, 2017. 3. Brief Facts of the case: i) M/s Kalyan Aqua & Marine Exports India Private Limited (the Applicant/the Company), has been engaged in the business of processing and exporting of shrimp. The applicant procures raw shrimp locally from farmers and processes it at the factory. Shrimp processing includes washing, de-veining, peeling, de-heading, tail removal, sorting, grading, and freezing. However, further processing can be done independently based on the customer's requirements to produce the desired results. In the freezing procedure, the applicant employs two distinct freezing techniques to preserve the processed shrimp: • Individual Quick Freezing (IOF) • Block Freezing ii) Processed frozen shrimp are packaged separately in accordance with the buyer's specifications. The Applicant employs the following packaging methods: a) Primary packaging: The final product is packed into individual pouches or boxes, weighing between approximately 250 grams and 2.5 kilograms.....
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....description of the entry reads as follows, "All goods (other than fresh or chilled), and put up in a container are. (a) bearing a registered brand name; or (b) bearing a brand name on which an actionable claim or enforceable right in a court of law is available[other than those where any actionable claim or enforceable right in respect of such brand name has been foregone voluntarily], subject to the conditions as in the ANNEXURE]" ii) From 13.07.2022, the above entry was amended vide Notification No. 06/2012-CGST(R) and same is reads as below, "All goods (other than fresh or chilled), pre-packaged and labelled" iii) Vide explanation in the notification, the expression 'pre-packaged and labelled' means a 'pre-packaged commodity' as defined in clause (l) of section 2 of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 (1 of 2010) where, the package in which the commodity is pre-packed or a label securely affixed thereto is required to bear the declarations under the provisions of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 (1 of 2010) and the rules made thereunder. iv) As per Section 2(l) of the Legal Metrology Act 2009, the term "pre-packaged commodity" ....
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....(AAR Andhra Pradesh)-(AAR No.15/AP/GST/2024 Dated: 04.02.2025) ix) In the above cases it was held that GST would be leviable on the export of pre-packaged and labeled rice up to 25 kg to foreign buyers. As per the above legal provisions and various Advance Ruling decisions, the applicant's understanding is as below, a) GST would be applicable on specified goods (namely Shrimps) where the pre-packaged commodity is supplied in packages containing a quantity of less than or equal to 25 kgs b) Pre-packaged and labeled commodities processed exclusively for export have not been excluded from the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 and rules made there under. Therefore, we understand that GST would be applicable on the supply of processed frozen shrimp in packages of up to 25 Kg, irrespective of the fact that the said supply is meant for domestic sale or export. 6. Personal Hearing: The proceedings of Personal Hearing was conducted on 30.05.2025, for which the authorized representative, Sri Ramesh Pathuri, Charted Accountant has appeared and reiterated the facts narrated in their application. 7. Discussion and Findings: 7.1 We have carefully gone through the ....
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....for human consumption, on the value determined under section 15 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act and at such rates, not exceeding forty per cent., as may be notified by the Government on the recommendations of the Council and collected in such manner as may be prescribed and shall be paid by the taxable person." Accordingly, it may be noted that all exports are to be deemed as inter-state supplies', and as per Section 16 of the IGST Act, 2017, export of goods or services or both are to be treated as Zero Rated Supplies'. It may be noted here that the exporter has the option either to export under Bond/Letter of Undertaking without payment of tax and claim refund of unutilised input tax credit or pay IGST at the time of export and claim refund of the same, as the case may be. 7.4 The point for determination here is as to whether the export of specified pre-packaged and labelled frozen Shrimp meant for export would fall within the meaning of the definition of 'pre-packaged and labelled commodity' under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, and the rules made there under, as defined under explanation (ii) of the respective Notifications, which is reproduced bel....
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....s liable to GST, as the same fall within the ambit of 'pre-packaged and labelled' category which is mandated to bear the declarations. 7.6 The above fact regarding the levy of GST as "pre-packaged and labelled" gets validated through the FAQs dated 18.07.2022 issued by the CBIC which has a persuasive value while interpreting the legal provisions. Under the said "FAQs on GST applicability on 'pre-packaged and labelled' goods", the relevant clarification under Sl.No.4, goes as below:- S.No Question Clarification 4 Whether GST would apply to a package that contains multiple retail packages. For example, a package containing 10 retail packs of flour of 10 Kg each? Yes, if several packages intended for retail sale to ultimate consumer, say 10 packages of 10 Kg each, are sold in a larger pack, then GST would apply to such supply. Such package may be sold by a manufacturer through distributor. These individual packs of 10 Kg each are meant for eventual sale to retail consumer. However, a package of say rice containing 50 Kg (in one individual package) would not be considered a pre-packaged and labelled commodity for the purposes of GST levy, even if....