Punjab Amends GST Exemption Notification for Animal Feeds and Pulse By-products

The Government of Punjab, Department of Excise and Taxation (Excise and Taxation-II Branch), issued Notification No. S.O. 48/P.A.5/2017/S.11/2023 on June 17, 2023. This instrument, exercising powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 11 of the Punjab Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (Punjab Act 5 of 2017), amended an earlier notification, No. S.O.18/P.A.5/2017/S.11/2017, dated June 30, 2017, which was published in the Punjab Government Gazette (Extraordinary). The Governor of Punjab, acting on the recommendations of the Council, issued the amendment after being satisfied that it was necessary in the public interest. The legislation provided: “...on being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do...” The amendment primarily concerned the Schedule of the original notification. Specifically, against serial number 102, the existing entry in column (3) was substituted with a new description: "Aquatic feed including shrimp feed and prawn feed, poultry feed & cattle feed, including grass, hay & straw, supplement & additives, wheat bran & de-oiled cake [other than rice bran]". Additionally, a new serial number, 102C, was inserted after serial number 102B, introducing "Husk of pulses including Chilka, Concentrates including chuni/churi, Khanda" under HSN codes 2302 and 2309. This notification was deemed to have come into force retrospectively on January 1, 2023.

The legislative intent behind these amendments was to refine and clarify the scope of goods eligible for specific tax treatments, likely exemptions, under the Punjab Goods and Services Tax framework. The earlier legal position, as established by the 2017 notification, covered a range of goods, and these changes addressed potential ambiguities or omissions in the classification of certain animal feeds and agricultural by-products. By substituting the entry for serial number 102, the notification clarified the precise definition of various feeds, including aquatic, poultry, and cattle feed, along with their supplements and certain by-products like wheat bran and de-oiled cake. The introduction of serial number 102C explicitly brought husk of pulses and various concentrates (such as chuni/churi and khanda) under the purview of the notification. This measure aimed to provide greater clarity to businesses and stakeholders involved in the production and trade of these goods, ensuring consistent application of tax provisions and potentially offering relief to the agricultural sector by streamlining the tax treatment of these essential inputs for agriculture and animal husbandry. The retrospective application of the notification from January 1, 2023, suggested an intent to regularize the tax position of these goods from an earlier date, potentially to resolve past uncertainties or provide continuous benefit to the sector.

Keywords: Punjab GST, Goods and Services Tax, tax exemption, animal feed, aquatic feed, poultry feed, cattle feed, pulse husk, concentrates, Punjab Excise and Taxation Geo Tags: India, Punjab District: Not Applicable