Last updated: February 12th, 2020 6:49 PM

GST Rate for Fish, Fish Products and Seafood

GST rate for fish, fish products and seafood was notified in the GST Council meeting held on 18th May 2017. In India, GST is levied at 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. The GST rates are also mapped to HSN code, an international system used for classifying goods. In this article, we look at the GST rate for seafood, fish and GST impact on the fishing industry.

Fish and Seafood in Live or Unprocessed Form

The GST Council has decided to exempt all fish, crustaceans, molluscs & other aquatic invertebrates in live, fresh or unprocessed form from GST in India. Hence, GST is not applicable to the following types of fish and seafood products:

• Fish seeds, prawn/shrimp seeds whether or not processed, cured or in a frozen state
• All goods, other than processed, cured or in a frozen state
• Live fish
• Fish, fresh or chilled, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat
• Fish fillets and other fish meat (whether or not minced), fresh or chilled
• Crustaceans, whether in a shell or not, live, fresh or chilled; crustaceans, in shell, cooked by steaming or by boiling in water, chilled
• Molluscs, whether in a shell or not, live, fresh, chilled; aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans and molluscs, live, fresh, chilled.
• Aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans and molluscs, live, fresh or chilled

Fish and Seafood in Processed, Cured or in Frozen State

Fish, crustaceans, molluscs & other aquatic invertebrates in processed, cured or frozen state are taxable at 5% rate under GST:

• Fish, frozen, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat
• Fish fillets and other fish meat (whether or not minced), frozen
• Fish, dried, salted or in brine; smoked fish, whether or not cooked before or during the smoking process; flours, meals and pellets of fish, fit for human consumption
• Crustaceans, whether in a shell or not, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; crustaceans, in shell, cooked by steaming or by boiling in water, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; flours, meals and pellets of crustaceans, fit for human consumption
• Molluscs, whether in a shell or not, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans and molluscs, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; flours, meals and pellets of aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans, fit for human consumption
• Aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans and molluscs, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; smoked aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans and molluscs, whether or not cooked before or during the smoking process: flours, meals and pellets of aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans and molluscs, fit for human consumption.

Fish and Seafood in Prepared or Preserved State

All preparations of meat, of fish or of crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic vertebrates are classified under chapter 16 of the HSN code. Accordingly, the following types of fish and seafood products attract 12% GST.

• Extracts and juices of meat, fish or crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates.
• Prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar substitutes prepared from fish eggs.
• Crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates prepared or preserved.

GST Rate for Fishing Vessels

The GST rate for fishing vessels; factory ships and other vessels for processing or preserving fishery products has been fixed at 5%. All types of fishing vessels, factory ships and processing or fishery products fall under chapter 89 of the HSN code. Chapter 89 of the HSN code pertains to ships, boats and floating structures.

GST Registration and GST Filing has started in India. Visit the IndiaFilings GST Portal for more information.