Private ruling: GST - food classification
Date of advice: 27 November 2025
Published: 12 January 2026
Ruling period: ddmmyyyy to ddmmyyyy

Ruling: Q1: Is the supply of the specified products (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. In this case, the supply of the Products is GST-free under section 38-2 of the GST Act as the Products satisfy the definition of food in paragraph 38-4(1)(a) of the GST Act, and none of the exclusions in section 38-3 of the GST Act apply to prevent the supply of the Products from being GST-free.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You are registered for GST. You sell the Products in Australia. The Products are packaged frozen in plastic bags and then placed in cardboard boxes. You have several varieties of the packaging depending on whether the Products are for retail sale or for food service sale. The retail variety is displayed on shelves along with other frozen finger foods that require cooking before consumption. You do not have any promotional materials for the Products. You supplied images of the products along with their packaging, labels, ingredient lists, and cooking instructions.

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 section 38-4 | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Schedule 1