The Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR), Andhra Pradesh has held that the export of processed frozen shrimp packed in pre-packaged and labelled pouches or cartons up to 25 kilograms will attract Goods and Services Tax (GST) irrespective of the fact whether it is for domestic supply or for export outside the country.
The bench of K. Ravi Sankar and B. Lakshmi Narayana has observed that the supply of shrimps in pouches or boxes of upto 25kg, which are duly pre-packaged and labelled as per Legal Metrology Act 2009 is a taxable supply which is neither exempted nor nil rated supply . As per the Notification no 06/2022 (CT Rate),dated 13th July 2022 ,GST has been made applicable on supply of such “pre-packaged and labelled” commodities attracting provisions of Legal Metrology Act, 2009.Therefore, where the quantity involved is 25Kgs or less in respect of specified commodities including shrimps (HSN 0306, as per S.No.4 of schedule 1 of notification 01/2017-central tax (rate) dated 28th June 2017) which are pre-packed, they would mandatorily get covered within the ambit of Legal Metrology Act, 2009, and the rules made there under.
The applicant, Sandhya Aqua Exports is engaged in purchasing raw shrimp from farmers, processing it through cleaning, grading, peeling and freezing stages, and exporting the final product to international buyers. The company packages shrimp in Primary Packs of 250 grams to 2.5 kg pouches/boxes and secondary packs of Master cartons up to 25 kg.
The company approached AAR seeking clarity on whether exports of such packaged shrimp — both printed and plain packaging — attract GST.
The company submitted that although the shrimp is exported, the packaging is done as per overseas buyers’ specifications. Since the goods are meant for export and not intended for the domestic consumer market, they argued that GST should not apply.
They relied on past rulings, claiming that processed seafood for export should not be treated as pre-packaged and labelled for GST purposes.
The debate revolved around the definition of “pre-packaged and labelled” under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, which forms the basis of GST applicability as per Notification No. 06/2022-CT (Rate) dated July 13, 2022.
As per the law, any package of up to 25 kg that is required to bear declarations under the Legal Metrology Rules is treated as pre-packaged and labelled, making it taxable under GST.
The Authority noted that the shrimp is packed in fixed pre-determined quantities (250 g to 2.5 kg) and then placed in master cartons up to 25 kg. These packs contain product details, brand/identification and therefore meet the conditions of “pre-packaged and labelled”.
The AAR emphasized that the law does not differentiate between exports and domestic supplies for determining GST liability where packaging falls under the Legal Metrology framework.
The AAR held that:
| Query Raised | GST Applicable? | Reason |
| Processed frozen shrimp packed in printed pouches/boxes and placed in printed master cartons (up to 25 kg) | Yes | Treated as pre-packaged & labelled |
| Processed frozen shrimp packed in plain pouches/boxes and placed in plain master cartons (up to 25 kg) | Yes | Quantity and nature of packaging qualify as pre-packaged & labelled |
Accordingly, the export supply will attract GST at 5%, with refund available as per zero-rated supply provisions.
Ruling Details
Applicant’s Name: M/s Sandhya Aqua Exports Private Limited
Ruling Date: 16 .09.2025
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