Kerala AAR on GST Exemption and Taxation on Supply of Frozen Poultry Products
The appeal has been filed by a company named M/S. Ramdharsan Thanikachalam (Vee Gee Sundaram And Sons) (Appellant) before the Kerala Authority for Advance Ruling, Goods and Services Tax Department, Tax Tower, Thiruvananthapuram. The appellant has a registered address at 8/162, Vee Gee S Premises, Pollachi Road, Kozhinjampara, Palakkad – 678555 and is registered under the GST Act, 2017, with a GSTIN of 32AXNPT3250D1ZL.
The appellant is involved in the trading of poultry meat, both whole (not cut into pieces) and in the form of cuts and offal sourced from third parties. They supply the product in wholesale bags of 30 kg each, including 15 smaller packs of 2 kg each. The packaging clearly states, “Packed exclusively for institutional sale and not for retail sale.” The appellant wants to supply these products to various buyers, including the Indian Army, the Ministry of Defence, and Taj Kerala Hotel & Resorts Ltd (Gateway, Varkala), among others. The supply may be carried out in either of the following ways:
- Direct supply by the applicant to the institutional buyers, or supply by the applicant to a distributor, who then supplies it to institutional buyers.
- In rare cases, if the applicant is unable to sell the product to institutional buyers either directly or through distributors, it may consider selling to non-institutional buyers as well.
Questions Asked by Applicant:
The applicant, M/S. Ramdharsan Thanikachalam has asked the following questions before the Kerala Authority for Advance Ruling Goods and Services Tax Department, Tax Tower, Thiruvananthapuram, seeking the advance ruling No. KER/24/2025. Dated 23.07.2025:
“Question 1. Whether the supply of frozen chicken [HSN0207 1200 & HSN 0207 1400] contained in a wholesale bag of 30 kg containing 15 small packs of 2 kg each made to institutional consumers such as the Indian Army, Ministry of Defence, and Taj Kerala Hotel & Resorts Ltd. (Gateway, Varkala), etc., is exempted vide Sl. No. 9 of Notification 2/2017-CT (R) against HSN 0207, ‘All goods other than fresh or chilled, other than pre-packaged and labelled’?
Question 2. Whether the supply of frozen chicken [HSN0207 1200 & HSN 0207 1400] contained in a wholesale bag of 30 kg containing 15 small packs of 2 kg each made to a distributor who would further supply to institutional consumers such as the Indian Army, the Ministry of Defense, and Taj Kerala Hotel & Resorts Ltd. (Gateway, Varkala), etc., is exempted vide Sl. No. 9 of Notification 2/2017-CT (R) against HSN0207, “All goods other than fresh or chilled, other than pre-packaged and labelled.”
Question 3. The rate of tax for the supply of frozen chicken [HSN0207 1200 & HSN 0207 1400] contained in a wholesale bag of 30 kg containing 15 small packs of 2 kg each when made to noninstitutional consumers.”
What Did the Ruling Say?
In accordance with the Kerala Authority for Advance Ruling Goods and Services Tax Department, Tax Tower, Thiruvananthapuram, the following answer has been given to the above questions:
Answer 1: According to Notification No. 2/2017 – Central Tax (Rate) dated 28-06-2017, S.I. No. 13, the items as asked in the question will be exempted from GST when supplied to institutional consumers, subject to compliance with the provisions of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, and the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, and the condition is that the supply is intended for consumption by such institutions.
Answer 2: According to Notification No. 2/2017 – Central Tax (Rate), Sl. No. 13, the items discussed in the question are exempted from GST, provided that they are supplied for consumption by institutional consumers and such supply adheres to the provisions of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, read with the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011.
Answer 3: GST rate at 5% (2.5% CGST + 2.5% SGST) will be imposed on the supply of frozen chicken [HSN 02071200 & 02071400] in wholesale bags containing smaller 2 kg packs when made to non-institutional consumers.
Citation: M/S. Ramdharsan Thanikachalam (AAR Kerala); No.KER/24/2025; 23/07/2025
