Frozen Meat Packed with Variable Weights is Exempt from GST
Haryana AAR ruled that frozen meat packed in bags with handwritten variable weights is exempt from GST as it lacks standard packaging.
- Ruling
- HAR/HAAR/R/2017-18/7 dated 11.04.2018
- Dated
- 11 Apr 2018
- Authority
- Authority for Advance Ruling
This page was written by Patron Accounting’s AI from the official release and reviewed before publishing. It explains the document in plain language. It is not the document itself. Where this page and the original differ, the original governs.
The short version
- The company asked if variable weight frozen meat packaging attracts GST.
- Haryana AAR ruled that meat in variable transport packaging is GST exempt.
- A unit container must hold a fixed pre-determined weight or standard quantity.
- Bags used purely as transport media do not make goods taxable.
In short
The company processes frozen goat, sheep, and poultry meat for sale to commercial markets and the Indian Army. It packs individual meat items into unsealed plastic bags and places them into larger transport bags. These outer bags carry handwritten weights that change depending on the size of the animals inside. The company asked the Haryana Authority for Advance Ruling whether this variable transport packaging counts as a unit container, which would make the meat taxable, or if it qualifies for Goods and Services Tax exemption.
What has changed
How it worked before
Many food suppliers assumed that placing frozen meat in outer plastic bags for transport automatically made it packaged goods in a unit container, creating confusion over whether to charge GST.
What has changed
The Haryana Authority for Advance Ruling order HAR/HAAR/R/2017-18/7 decided that transport bags carrying varying, non-standard weights are not unit containers. To qualify as a unit container under GST, packaging must hold a standardized, pre-determined quantity. Because the aggregate weight on these outer bags varied per package based on carcass size, the meat qualifies for full GST exemption.
Who this affects
Meat processors, poultry traders, and food suppliers who transport fresh or frozen goods in bulk packaging marked with variable weights.
An example
A poultry distributor in Punjab packs whole frozen chickens into outer plastic sacks for bulk transport to local hotels. Each sack carries a different handwritten total weight marked on the outside based on the size of the birds enclosed. The distributor wants to know if this bulk sale is subject to GST. Based on ruling HAR/HAAR/R/2017-18/7, because the weight is not fixed or pre-determined, the packaging is likely not a unit container, suggesting the sales would be exempt from GST.
What you should do
Check how your business packages and labels food products before applying a GST exemption. Remember that an advance ruling binds only the company that applied for it and its specific tax jurisdiction. If your business uses similar non-standard packaging, consult a tax professional or apply for your own ruling before altering your tax treatment.
If you do nothing
If you stop paying GST assuming this ruling automatically covers your business, a tax officer during an audit may take a different view. If the officer decides your packaging qualifies as a standard unit container, you could face tax demands for unpaid GST along with mandatory interest and penalties. You cannot rely solely on another business's advance ruling to cancel a tax demand.
The terms explained
- unit container
- A container or package designed to hold a standardized, fixed, and pre-determined weight or quantity of goods.
- input tax credit
- A tax credit that businesses claim for GST paid on business purchases, which reduces the GST they owe on sales.
- GST exemption
- A legal tax status where specific goods or services are not subject to Goods and Services Tax.
The ruling in detail
Authority for Advance Ruling
M/s AOV Agro Food Pvt. Ltd.
HAR/HAAR/R/2017-18/7 dated 11.04.2018 · Haryana
Questions before the authority
- Whether frozen sheep/goat meat carcasses and whole frozen chicken packed in unsealed LDPE bags and secondary HDPE bags qualify as goods put up in 'Unit Containers', and whether such supplies are taxable or exempt from GST under relevant notifications.
Facts
The applicant processes frozen sheep/goat meat (HSN 0204) and frozen poultry meat (HSN 0207) for supply to the Army and commercial markets. Individual frozen carcasses or chickens are placed into primary unsealed LDPE bags without weight markings, which are then packed into secondary HDPE bags. The secondary HDPE bags carry variable handwritten actual weight markings depending on the specific items enclosed, rather than a fixed, pre-determined quantity or standardized weight.
Ruling
| Question | What the authority ruled |
|---|---|
| Supply of frozen sheep/goat meat and whole chicken packed in LDPE and HDPE bags with non-standardized weights | Exempt from GST Does not qualify as 'Unit Container' as packaging is not designed to hold a pre-determined quantity or weight |
The Authority held that the packaging used by the applicant does not qualify as a **'Unit Container'** because it is not designed to hold a pre-determined or standardized quantity or weight. Consequently, the supplies of frozen sheep/goat meat and poultry meat fall under the **exemption list** under Notification No. 2/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate) (entries 10 and 13) up to 14.11.2017 and Notification No. 44/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate) (entry 9) thereafter.
Reasoning
The definition of 'unit container' requires a package designed to hold a pre-determined quantity or number indicated on such package. Relying on judicial precedents such as CCE vs. Shalimar Super Foods and Surya Agro Oils Ltd. vs. CCE, the authority observed that packaging goods in bags merely as a medium of transport without standardized or uniform pre-determined weights does not convert them into unit containers. Since the aggregate weight on the secondary HDPE bags varied per package depending on carcass sizes, the essential test of holding a pre-determined weight was not satisfied. Therefore, the supplies qualified for full exemption under Notification No. 2/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate) prior to 14.11.2017 and Notification No. 44/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate) from 15.11.2017 onwards.
Provisions relied on
- Section 97(2)(b) of the CGST Act, 2017
- Section 98 of the CGST Act, 2017
- Notification No. 1/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017
- Notification No. 2/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017
- Notification No. 43/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate) dated 14.11.2017
- Notification No. 44/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate) dated 14.11.2017
For the practitioner
This ruling establishes that outer packaging used purely for delivery or transport holding variable, non-standardized weights does not constitute a **'Unit Container'** under GST. Tax practitioners can use this to support **GST exemption** on meat and similar perishable goods where packaging lacks a pre-determined, standardized weight or count.
Source
This is a summary prepared from the published order, which is a scanned document. It is a reading aid and not the authority: where the two differ, the order governs. Verify every provision against the original before relying on it.
Original order: https://www.gstcouncil.gov.in/sites/default/files/AAR/haryana-ar_07_2017-18_dt.11.04.18_aovafpl.pdf
Legibility of the scan, as read: high.
Prepared 17-10-2026.
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