Private ruling: GST and classification of ready to eat food product
Published: March 2015

Ruling: Q1: Is your supply of the Ready to Eat food product (food product) GST-free? | A1: No.

Relevant facts and circumstances: • You are registered for goods and services tax (GST) • You are a retailer. • You supply a food product. • The food product is food for human consumption. • The food product is sold in a clear plastic retail pot from the refrigerated dairy section. • The food product comes in different flavours. • The label on the packaging lists the ingredients. • The cooking instructions on the label state: 1. Remove lid and microwave on high for 60 seconds. 2. Stir and heat for further 60 seconds or until piping hot. 3. Stand for 60 seconds. • The label states to keep refrigerated at or below 4 degrees Celsius. • The product size stated on the packaging is 255 ml. • The details on the packaging states that it is ready to eat. • You are not aware of any similar products in the market.

Relevant legislative provisions: All references are to the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act): Section 9-5 | Section 38-2 | Section 38-3 | Section 38-4

Reasons for decision: Summary: Your supply of the food product is not GST-free as it is excluded from being GST-free under paragraph 38-3(1)(c) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act). The food product is excluded under item 4 of Schedule 1 to the GST Act as a prepared meal. | Detailed Reasoning - Detailed reasoning: GST is payable by you on your taxable supplies. You make a taxable supply where you satisfy the requirements of section 9-5 of the GST Act: In your case, you will satisfy the requirements of paragraphs 9-5(a) to 9-5(d) of the GST Act. That is, you will supply the food product for consideration and in the course or furtherance of an enterprise that you carry on. Additionally, the supply will be connected with Australia and you are registered for GST. There are no provisions in the GST Act under which your sales of the food product will be input taxed supplies. Therefore, what remains to be determined is whether your sales of the food product will be a GST-free supply. 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 and the supply is not excluded from being GST-free by section 38-3. Food is defined in section 38-4 of the GST Act to include food for human consumption (paragraph 38-4(1)(a)). The food product satisfies the definition of food because it is sold as food for human consumption. Therefore the food product will be GST-free unless it falls within any of the exclusions in section 38-3 of the GST Act. Of relevance to your circumstances is the exception under paragraph 38-3(1)(c). Paragraph 38-3(1)(c) of the GST Act provides that a supply of food is not GST-free if it is food of a kind that is specified in the table in clause 1 of Schedule 1 to the GST Act (Schedule 1). | Detailed Reasoning - Schedule 1: We will now also consider Schedule 1 for the food product. It is only necessary to consider Item 4 of Schedule1, this item covering prepared meals. Item 4 excludes prepared meals and food marketed as prepared meals, but not including soup from GST-free status. When considering food under Item 4 we need to also consider conditions outlined in clauses 2 and 3 of Schedule 1 of the GST Act. Clause 2 of Schedule 1 provides when considering prepared food under items 1 to 7, it does not matter whether the food is sold hot, cold or frozen or require cooking, heating, thawing or chilling prior to consumption. Clause 3 of Schedule 1 provides that Item 4 only applies to food that requires refrigeration or freezing for its storage. | Detailed Reasoning - Prepared Meals: The Further Supplementary Explanatory Memorandum to the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Bill 1998 (the EM) provides that the term 'prepared meal' is intended to cover a range of food products that: • directly compete against take-aways and restaurants • require refrigeration or freezing for storage and • are marketed as a 'prepared meal'. Included in this category (according to the EM at paragraph 1.33) are things such as: • prepared meals such as curry and rice dishes, mornay and similar dishes sold cold by a take-away or supermarket that only need reheating to be ready for consumption • fresh or frozen lasagne • sushi • cooked pasta dishes sold complete with sauce • frozen TV dinners and • fresh or frozen complete meals (for example single serves of a roast dinned including vegetables and low fat dietary meals). All of the above meals, except for the sushi, are of a kind that are duly assembled, cooked or partly cooked and require heating and completion of the cooking process for them to be ready for consumption Therefore, for food to be regarded as a 'prepared meal' in accordance with Item 4, the food needs to be supplied assembled and dressed (if applicable). In addition, if the food is cooked or partly cooked and is to be served hot, it should only need heating, which may include completion of the cooking process, to be ready for consumption. Heating will be interpreted to mean warmed in the microwave oven, convection oven, frying pan, wok or saucepan. Paragraph 1.34 of the EM provides examples of food items that are not considered to be prepared meals: • frozen vegetables • uncooked pasta products • fish fingers • baby food, baked beans, spaghetti and Irish stew that do not require refrigeration or freezing. In determining whether food is marketed as a 'prepared meal' the activities of the supplier are relevant. Consideration is given to the following: • the name of the goods • the price of the goods • the labelling on any containers for the goods • literature or instructions packed with the goods • how the goods are packaged • how the goods are promoted or advertised and • how the goods are distributed. The term 'prepared meal' referred to in Item 4 is not defined in the GST Act and therefore takes its ordinary meaning. 'Meal' is defined in The Macquarie Concise Dictionary, 2001 , revised 3rd edition Macquarie Library Pty Ltd NSW (Macquarie Dictionary) as: 1. one of the regular repasts of the day, as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 2. the food eaten or served for a repast. This definition could be applied to a single food item or to a meal consisting of several food items. The Macquarie Dictionary defines 'prepare' in relation to food as 'to get ready for eating, as a meal, by due assembling, dressing or cooking' . In order to determine whether the food product you supply is a prepared meal, it is necessary to refer to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) view concerning prepared meals. The ATO view on prepared food is provided in "Issue 5 Prepared food" in the Food Industry Partnership Goods and Services Tax Industry Issues and the Detailed food list (available from the ATO website www.ato.gov.au), a public ruling for the purposes of the Taxation Administration Act 1953. The packaging on the food product states that it needs to be kept refrigerated at or below 4 degrees Celsius and you display the product in the refrigerated dairy cabinet. Therefore the food product satisfies Clause 3 of Schedule 1 as the food product requires refrigeration or freezing for its storage. The food product consists of the water, low-fat milk, oats, salt, sugar and any flavouring. The cooking instructions on the packaging state to heat in the microwave on high for sixty seconds, stir and heat for a further sixty seconds. The food product is therefore duly assembled and just requires heating to complete ready for consumption. The food product is marketed as a 'ready to eat food product' with the only preparation required is to heat, stir, stand and eat. Therefore clause 2 of Schedule 1 is also satisfied. The food product is ready to eat. This food product can be differentiated to other similar food products that require the consumer to add milk or water before heating and assembling ready to eat. The cooking instructions on the packaging indicate that the product can be cooked in its container via microwave and be eaten from the container (a heat and serve container). The food product is also similar to breakfast products that could be purchased from take-away and cafes. After considering all of the above factors it is concluded that the food product is a prepared meal under item 4 and is not a supply of food that is GST-free, as it is excluded from being GST-free under paragraph 38-3(1)(c) of the GST Act. Therefore the supply of the food product is subject to GST.