Private ruling: GST and food
Date of advice: 20 August 2021
Published: October 2021

Ruling: Q1: Is the supply of the Products GST-free under section 38-2 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act)? | A1: Yes. A supply of food is GST-free under section 38-2 of the GST Act if the product satisfies the definition of food in section 38-4 of the GST Act and the supply is not excluded from being GST-free by section 38-3 of the GST Act. The supply of the Products is GST-free under section 38-2 of the GST Act because: • the Products satisfy the definition of food in paragraph 38-4(1)(a) of the GST Act as food for human consumption and • the supply of the Products does not fall within any exclusions in section 38-3 of the GST Act.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You sell the Products and you are registered for GST. The Products are a range of pre-cooked marinated meat. The Products are fully cooked and fresh chilled. The Products are vacuum sealed and have a shelf life of a number of weeks chilled. The Products must be kept refrigerated at a certain temperature and used within a few days of opening. The Products need to be reheated before serving and consumed by the end user as part of a meal. The Products can be reheated using a grill or oven at a particular temperature, glazed with enclosed sauce, reduced for a number of minutes depending on the cut and size of the portion and served with vegetables and/or salads. The Products are sold to supermarkets and wholesale distributors. In a supermarket the Products are in the chilled meats section with pre-cooked marinated meats. You provided a brochure, images of the Products and the labels of the available flavours and cuts of meat.

Relevant legislative provisions: A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 38-2. | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 38-3. | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 paragraph 38-3(1)(c). | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 38-4. | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 paragraph 38-4(1)(a). | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Schedule 1 clause 1.