Agri, textiles and crafts

GST invoice format for a fish seller or fish wholesaler

Fresh and chilled fish, live fish and fish seed are exempt under Notification 10/2025, so a fish seller selling the day's catch issues a bill of supply. Frozen, dried or salted fish becomes taxable at 5% when pre-packaged and labelled, and prepared or preserved fish is also at 5%. Fishing nets are at 5%. The bill should show species, size grade, condition (live, fresh, chilled, frozen), gross and net weight after ice, landing centre and boat or auction reference.

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Sample fish seller invoice

Description	HSN/SAC	Qty	Rate (₹)	Taxable (₹)	GST
Rohu fish, fresh, 1-2 kg grade	0302	150 KGS	180.00	27,000.00	0%
Live catla fish	0301	80 KGS	220.00	17,600.00	0%
Rohu fish seed (fingerlings)	0301	5000 NOS	1.20	6,000.00	0%
Frozen prawns, pre-packaged and labelled, 1 kg carton	0306	40 PAC	520.00	20,800.00	5%
Fishing net, nylon, made up	5608	2 NOS	3,800.00	7,600.00	5%
Taxable value				₹79,000.00
GST (CGST + SGST, or IGST if inter-state)				₹1,420.00
Invoice total				₹80,420.00

Sample prices are illustrative. Check the GST rate for your exact item or service before billing.

Extra fields a fish seller invoice needs

Species and size grade: Rohu, catla, pomfret, surmai and prawns are priced by species and by count per kg. Size grade on the bill lets buyers check the delivery and settle claims quickly.
Condition: live, fresh, chilled or frozen: Live, fresh and chilled fish are exempt; frozen and pre-packaged fish may be taxed. The condition on each line determines the rate and should be recorded at the time of sale.
Gross weight, ice and net weight: Fish moves packed in ice. Showing gross weight, ice deduction and net weight prevents disputes, since price is always on net fish.
Landing centre or farm: Buyers and exporters want to know whether fish came from a sea landing centre, a reservoir or a farm pond. The source also matters for traceability, for quality complaints and for exporters who must show the catch area to overseas buyers.
Auction or boat reference: Wholesale fish is often bought at auction. Quoting the auction slip or boat number links the sale to the purchase.
Packing type for frozen goods: Frozen fish in labelled cartons is taxed; bulk frozen blocks without labels may be exempt. Packing type should be noted on each line, along with the carton weight and brand if any, so that the 5% packed lines can be separated from exempt bulk frozen fish in the return.

Standard GST invoice fields

Rule 46 of the CGST Rules applies to every tax invoice, including this one:

Supplier name, address and GSTIN
Consecutive invoice number (max 16 characters, unique for the year)
Date of issue
Customer name, address and GSTIN (if registered)
Place of supply with state name
HSN/SAC code per item
Description, quantity and unit
Taxable value after discounts
GST rate and CGST + SGST or IGST amounts
Signature or digital signature

GST rules that matter for a fish seller

Fresh fish is exempt, packed frozen fish is 5%

Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate) exempts live fish (0301), fresh or chilled fish (0302) other than fillets and other fish meat of 0304, and fish seed and prawn or shrimp seed. Schedule I of Notification 9/2025 taxes goods of headings 0303 to 0309, other than fresh or chilled, at 5% when pre-packaged and labelled; frozen fish not pre-packaged and labelled remains exempt. Prepared or preserved fish of heading 1604 and crustaceans prepared or preserved of 1605 are at 5%. A seller who also freezes and packs fish for supermarkets must keep those lines separate from fresh sales.

Bill of supply for daily fish trade

A registered fish seller dealing only in exempt fresh fish issues a bill of supply, and one dealing only in exempt goods need not register at all. Most market fish sellers fall in this category. When the business adds taxable frozen packed fish, nets or ice and its turnover crosses the threshold, it must register and issue tax invoices for taxable lines.

Aquatic feed and fish farming inputs

Aquatic feed including shrimp and prawn feed is exempt under Notification 10/2025. Fishing nets of heading 5608 are at 5%. Fish farmers buying feed and seed pay no tax on them, but nets, aerators and pumps carry tax that the farmer, usually unregistered, cannot claim back.

Support services to fishing

Services relating to rearing of all life forms of animals for food, including fish, are support services to agriculture, forestry, fishing and animal husbandry in entry 24 of Notification 11/2017, and are nil-rated when they fall within the listed activities, such as loading, unloading and storage of agricultural produce. Commission agents in fish auctions should check whether fish fits the definition of agricultural produce before treating commission as exempt.

E-way bill on transport

Fish is perishable and moves in insulated trucks. Exempt goods are covered by relief under the e-way bill rules, but a consignment including taxable frozen packed fish above Rs 50,000 needs an e-way bill. Carry the invoice or bill of supply with weights for every load.

Common billing mistakes

Charging GST on fresh or chilled fish sold in the market, which is exempt.
Treating labelled frozen fish packs as exempt like fresh fish.
Not deducting ice weight on the bill, which causes disputes on net quantity and overstates the value of fish sold.
Billing fish fillets as fresh whole fish without checking the separate heading.
Issuing tax invoices with 0% on every line instead of a bill of supply when all sales are exempt.

Fish seller GST invoice: FAQ

Is GST charged on fish?

Live fish and fresh or chilled fish are exempt under Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate). Frozen or processed fish that is pre-packaged and labelled is taxed at 5%.

Is fish seed taxable?

No. Fish seed and prawn or shrimp seed are exempt under Notification 10/2025.

What is the HSN for fresh fish?

Live fish is 0301 and fresh or chilled whole fish is 0302. Frozen fish is 0303 and fillets are 0304.

What is the GST on fishing nets?

Made up fishing nets of heading 5608 are taxed at 5% under Schedule I of Notification 9/2025.

Does a fish seller need GST registration?

Not if all sales are exempt fresh fish. Registration is needed once taxable sales are added and aggregate turnover crosses the threshold.

Sources: Gazette of India: Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate), exempt goods · Gazette of India: Notification 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate), goods rate schedules · GST Council: Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate), updated services rate table

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