Private ruling: GST and food classification
Date of advice: 5 December 2025
Published: 27 January 2026
Ruling period: ddmmyyyy to ddmmyyyy

Ruling: Q1: Are the supplies of the freeze-dried fruits GST-free under section 38-2 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act)? | A1: No. | Q2: Are the supplies of the fruit powders GST-free under section 38-2 of the GST Act? | A2: Yes. | Q3: Is the supply of the dried yeast GST-free under section 38-2 of the GST Act? | A3: Yes.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You are registered for GST. You sell, freeze dried fruits, fruit powders and dried yeast (the Products). The Products are sold as shelf-stable food products suitable for human consumption. The Products are packaged and sealed in moisture proof pouches or jars. You will continue to sell the Products in the same form, packaging, and marketing presentation as shown on your website. Your website provides information about the Products, such as images of the products and their packaging, ingredient lists, usage instructions and other relevant information. Freeze-dried fruits The freeze-dried fruits have undergone a preservation process that removes almost all the water content from the fruit, leaving the basic structure and content of the material intact. The freeze-dried fruits are light and airy, with a dry and crispy and crunchy texture. Fruit powders Fruit powders can be added to beverages and food. Dried yeast Dried yeast is to be added to food.

Relevant legislative provisions: A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 9-5 | 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 section 38-4 | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Schedule 1

Reasons for decision: Summary: We consider the freeze-dried fruits, exhibit characteristics similar to food items listed under item 15 in clause 1 of Schedule 1 to the GST Act (item 15), being dry, crispy, crunchy snacks that have a likeness or resemblance in a general way to such food items. Hence, the freeze-dried fruits fall under item 18 in clause 1 of Schedule 1 to the GST Act (item 18) as food that is similar to food listed under item 15. The supply of the freeze-dried fruits therefore is not GST-free under section 38-2 of the GST Act. The supply of the freeze-dried fruits is a taxable supply under section 9-5 of the GST Act. | Detailed Reasoning - Detailed reasoning: 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. Food is defined in section 38-4 of the GST Act to include food for human consumption (whether or not requiring processing or treatment) (paragraph 38-4(1)(a) of the GST Act). The freeze-dried fruits are food for human consumption and therefore, satisfy the definition of food in paragraph 38-4(1)(a) of the GST Act. However, 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). The items relevant for consideration in this case are item 15 and item 18 in the category of 'savoury snacks': | Detailed Reasoning - Food: 15 Savoury snacks potato crisps, sticks or straws, corn crisps or chips, bacon or pork crackling or prawn chips, bacon or pork crackling or prawn chips 16 seeds or nuts that have been processed or treated by salting, spicing, smoking or roasting, or in any other similar way 18 *food similar to that covered by item 15 or 16, whether or not it consists wholly or partly of any vegetable, herb, fruit, meat, seafood or dairy product or extract and whether or not it is artificially flavoured Freeze-dried fruits are not specified under item 15. We need to consider if the freeze-dried fruits are food of kind that is similar to food covered by item 15 and therefore fall under item 18. The word 'similar' is not a defined term in the GST Act. The Macquarie Dictionary online , www.macquariedictionary.com.au, accessed 19 November 2025, defines the term as: 1. having likeness or resemblance, especially in a general way. The category heading 'savoury snacks' is not an operative part of Schedule 1 (section 182-15 of the GST Act and Note 2 in Schedule 1). As such, the category heading may only be used as an interpretation tool in certain circumstances, for example, where the description of an item listed in Schedule 1 is ambiguous or obscure (paragraph 182-10(2)(c) of the GST Act). In this context, the meaning of item 18 is unambiguous, and it is evident that its purpose was to broaden the range of food snacks covered by items 15 and 16. Item 18 has a broad scope, extending the range of food products to products that are considered similar to those in item 15 or item 16. Item 18 specifies that the composition or ingredients of the product are irrelevant. A food product may be regarded as similar to those covered under item 15 or 16 regardless of whether it is wholly or partly made from vegetables, herbs, fruits, meat, seafood, or dairy. This means a snack does not need to be savoury, salty, spicy, or made from potato, bacon/pork, prawn, or seeds to fall within this food category. For example, a product made entirely from fruit could be covered by item 18 if its overall characteristics align, even though none of the foods in items 15 or 16 are fruit-based. Such a product would likely be sweet rather than savoury. Similarly, a snack made entirely from dairy could also be included under item 18, despite the fact that none of the foods specified in item 15 or item 16 are made from a dairy product. Accordingly, item 18 is not restricted to the food that is specified in item 15 or item 16. Whilst ingredients, manufacturing process and shape may be a factor in determining whether the Products are 'similar to' snack foods in item 15, they will not, of themselves, be determinative. In Lansell House Pty Ltd & Anor v. FCT 2011 ATC 20-239 at paragraph 30, the Court stated: ...The word "kind" is appropriately used to denote a genus, class or description ( Commonwealth of Australia v Spaul (1987) 74 ALR 513 at 516 per Davies, Lockhart and Neaves JJ). The use of the words "of a kind" in s 38-3(1)(c) of the GST Act adds further generality to the description of the items described in Schedule 1: Air International Pty Ltd v Chief Executive Officer of Customs (2002) 121 FCR 149 per Hill J. Thus, a new product that does not possess all of the same characteristics of known crackers may nevertheless be within the relevant item. For example, in the present case, included within item 32 are products that do and do not contain yeast and products that might be produced by different manufacturing processes. The question is whether the resulting product comes within the genus, class or description of a cracker. Therefore, in your situation, determining the classification of the freeze-dried fruits requires assessing whether they share characteristics with the food listed under item 15. The freeze-dried fruits have undergone a preservation process that removes almost all the water content from the fruit, leaving the basic structure and content of the material intact. The freeze-dried fruits are light and airy, with a dry and crispy and crunchy texture. Taking all the above factors into account, we consider that the freeze-dried fruits exhibit characteristics similar to food items listed under item 15, being small, dry, crispy, crunchy snacks that have a likeness or resemblance in a general way to such food items. The freeze-dried fruits therefore fall under item 18 as they are similar to food products specified in item 15. As the freeze-dried fruits are covered by item 18, they are excluded from being GST-free by paragraph 38-3(1)(c) of the GST Act. The supply of the Products therefore is not GST-free under section 38-2 of the GST Act. The supply of the freeze-dried fruits is a taxable supply as it meets all the requirements of section 9-5 of the GST Act. | Detailed Reasoning - Questions 2 and 3: Are the supplies of the fruit powders and dried yeast GST-free under section 38-2 of the GST Act? | Summary: The supplies of the fruit powders and dried yeast are GST-free under section 38-2 of the GST Act as they meet the definition of food in section 38-4 of the GST Act and are not prevented from being GST-free by any of the exclusions in section 38-3 of the GST Act. | Detailed Reasoning - Detailed reasoning: The definition of food in section 38-4 of the GST Act includes ingredients for food for human consumption (paragraph 38-4(1)(b) of the GST Act). The Detailed food list relevantly includes the following entries: 1537 powdered fruit GST-free Ingredients for food. Paragraph 38-4(1)(b) of the GST Act applies and none of the exclusions in section 38-3 of the GST Act apply. 1806 yeast GST-free Ingredients for food. Paragraph 38-4(1)(b) of the GST Act applies and none of the exclusions in section 38-3 of the GST Act apply Based on the information provided we consider that the fruit powders and dried yeast are ingredients for food and therefore meet the definition of food in paragraph 38-4(1)(b) of the GST Act. Further, the supplies of the fruit powders and dried yeast are not prevented from being GST-free under any of the exclusions in section 38-3 of the GST Act. The supplies of the fruit powders and dried yeast are therefore GST-free under section 38-2 of the GST Act.

Question 1: Are the supplies of freeze-dried fruits GST-free under section 38-2 of the GST Act?