GST rate on pet food in India: dog food, cat food and treats

Short answer: prepared pet food falls under HSN 2309 and has been taxed at 18%. Confirm the current rate before you file, because India rationalised its slabs during 2025 and pet products were one of the categories people were asking about.

The longer answer is worth reading if you sell anything other than sealed bags of kibble, because the heading is doing more work than most retailers realise.

Reviewed 11 August 2026. Rates change; HSN headings rarely do. Check the current CBIC notification or ask your CA before relying on a rate.

The heading that decides it

Everything turns on Chapter 23, heading 2309: “preparations of a kind used in animal feeding”.

Two words in that phrase carry the weight.

Preparations. Something has been done to it. Cooked, extruded, compounded, fortified, blended. A bag of kibble is a preparation. A sack of unprocessed wheat is not.

Of a kind used in animal feeding. It’s about what the product is, not who buys it. A product formulated as animal feed stays in 2309 whether the buyer is a pet owner, a breeder or a kennel.

So the line isn’t “pet food versus human food” or “retail versus wholesale”. It’s processed versus unprocessed.

What sits where

Product	Heading	Typical treatment
Dry kibble, dog and cat	2309	18%
Wet food, pouches and tins	2309	18%
Baked biscuits and treats	2309	18%
Dental chews, formulated	2309	18%
Prepared bird and fish feed	2309	18%
Puppy and kitten milk replacer	2309	18%
Unprocessed grain sold as feed	1001–1008	Often nil or 5%
Raw meat, unprocessed	Chapter 2	Varies
Vitamin and mineral supplements	2309 or 3004	Depends on presentation

That last row is the one to be careful with. A feed supplement blended into food generally stays in 2309. A veterinary medicament presented in measured doses with a therapeutic claim can fall under 3004 at the lower medicine rate. The distinction is the presentation and the claim, not the shelf it sits on.

Why raw grain is different

Pet shops that also sell loose grain, or supply breeders and shelters in bulk, run into this constantly.

Unprocessed cereals sit in Chapter 10 and attract a much lower rate, sometimes nil when unbranded. The moment you process, compound or brand it, it moves to 2309 and the rate goes up.

Branding matters more than people expect. Putting unprocessed grain into your own printed, sealed packaging can change its treatment. If a meaningful part of your turnover is loose or repackaged feed, get that specific position confirmed rather than assuming.

Billing it correctly

For a within-state sale at 18%, on a ₹3,200 bag:

Taxable value             ₹2,711.86
CGST @ 9%                 ₹  244.07
SGST @ 9%                 ₹  244.07
Invoice total             ₹3,200.00

Show the HSN, the taxable value and the two tax lines separately. A single line reading “₹3,200 incl. GST” is not a valid tax invoice, and a breeder or kennel buying from you cannot claim input credit against it. That’s how volume customers quietly move to a supplier who invoices properly.

Three things that catch pet shops out

Free samples. The manufacturer’s sample bags you hand out are a supply without consideration in most cases, and you generally cannot claim input tax credit on goods disposed of as free samples. Track them separately rather than letting them sit in normal stock.

Damaged and expired stock. Written off or destroyed stock requires reversal of the input credit you claimed when you bought it. For a category with expiry dates on every bag, this is not a marginal issue. Keep the write-off record; your ITC reversal has to be defensible.

Bundles. A bag of food plus a free bowl is a mixed supply and takes the highest rate of anything in the bundle. If the bowl carries a higher rate than the food, the whole bundle does.

The practical fix

Rates and headings are easy to get right once and impossible to get right repeatedly at a counter with a queue behind you.

Set the HSN and rate on the product record, and let the till apply it. In Fretso’s retail module each item carries its own treatment, so a basket of kibble, a spot-on and a groom bills three ways without anyone thinking about it. When a rate changes you change it once, not across a shelf’s worth of habits.

For the full picture, including invoice format, registration thresholds and filing dates, see the complete GST guide for pet shops. For codes across the whole catalogue, see the HSN reference table.

Quick answers

What is the GST rate on dog food in India? Prepared dog food under HSN 2309 has been taxed at 18%. Verify against the current notification before filing.

Is cat food taxed differently from dog food? No. Both fall under 2309 as preparations used in animal feeding.

What about treats and dental chews? Formulated treats and chews generally sit in 2309 with the rest of the prepared food.

Is there GST on raw meat sold as pet food? Unprocessed meat falls in Chapter 2 and is treated differently from prepared food in 2309. Confirm the position for exactly how you sell it.

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Last reviewed 11 August 2026. General guidance, not tax advice.