Wooden Ice Cream Sticks and Spoons Attract 12% GST: AAR [Read Order]

Wooden Ice Cream Sticks - GST - AAR - wooden ice cream spoons - Taxscan

The Karnataka Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) ruled that the products are wooden ice cream sticks and wooden ice cream attracts 12% Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The applicant M/s Raghu Packing, stated that they supply wooden ice cream sticks and wooden ice cream spoons to the dairy industry for food stuffing and for use in the consumption of ice cream. In view of this, the applicant sought an advance ruling seeking the classification of the said wooden ice cream sticks and wooden ice cream spoons and the rate of GST applicable thereon.

Further submitted that the semi-finished wooden spoons and wooden sticks that are imported by them. The aforesaid semi-finished products are manufactured from wooden logs out of European white Birch (Betula Pendula) taken from the Siberian forest, which is certified & covered under FSC document No.FC-COC-001640.

Furthermore, the semi-finished wooden sticks and wooden spoons process the same in different stages like round edging, polishing, screening, sorting, bundling and packing them for dispatching to customers in the dairy industry, which is used as ice cream sticks/ spoons.

The applicant contended that their products merit classification under HSN code 44219190 and seeks a ruling on the issue of classification of their products and the GST rate applicable thereon.

Further stated that they are holders of FSSAI Licence Number- 10019043002688 & FSSC22000 certified industry.

The bench of Dr M P Ravi Prasad and Kiran Reddy T. observed that the contested objects, namely wooden sticks and wooden spoons, are made of a specific wood European White Birch (Betula Pendula) sourced from a Siberian forest and hence qualify as articles of wood.

The bench then looked into a potential alternative classification for the contested products. We discovered that heading 4419 covers wood tableware and kitchenware and in particular 4419 90 covers wood tableware and kitchenware other than bamboo wood.

According to the additional HSN explanatory comments, heading 4419 includes spoons, crumb-scoops, and other products. The contested products, a wooden spoon and a wooden stick are classified as spoons and crumb-scoops, respectively. Thus, the impugned articles would be classified as dinnerware made of wood other than bamboo under 4419 90 90.

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