In the matter of Ramdharsan Thanikachalam (Vee Gee Sundaram and Sons)
Kerala AAR holds that the supply of frozen chicken (HSN 0207 1200 and HSN 0207 1400), packed in wholesale bags of 30 kg containing 15 smaller packs of 2 kg each, made to institutional consumers such as the Indian Army, Ministry of Defence, and Taj Kerala Hotels & Resorts Ltd. (Gateway, Varkala), is exempt from GST under Sl. No. 13 of Notification No. 2/2017 – Central Tax (Rate); Rules that the exemption would remain available even where supplies are routed through a distributor, provided the end use is by a qualifying institutional or industrial consumer; AAR emphasizes that, u/s 2(l) of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, r/w Rule 3(c) of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, packaged commodities meant for industrial or institutional consumers, are excluded from retail labelling requirements, and therefore, such supplies are not treated as “pre-packaged and labelled” for GST purposes, and remain exempt; AAR also alludes to Ministry of Finance FAQ dated July 17, 2022, stating clearly that supply of packaged commodity for consumption by industrial consumer or institutional consumer is excluded from the purview of the Legal Metrology Act by virtue of Rule 3(c);Conversely, clarifies that supply of frozen chicken in wholesale bags containing smaller 2 kg packs, when made to non-institutional consumers,shall attract GST at the rate of 5%:AAR KER
