Arnold Thomas
Expert
Published on: Mar 28, 2026
GST Exemptions to Food and Agricultural Organisations (FAO)
As per the latest GST Council meeting held on 20th September 2019, the council announced exempted or reduced Goods and Services Tax in the interest of the public. Of which, the GST is exempted to
Food and Agricultural Organisations (FAO) of the United Nations for the execution of certain projects from 1st October 2019. The exemption is valid only when an officer of the rank of Deputy Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare certifies the goods supplied. The certificate should carry the following details or information:- the description and quantity of the goods; and
- that the said goods are intended for the purpose of use in the execution of said projects.
The details of the projects are:
- Strengthening Capacities for Nutrition-sensitive Agriculture and Food systems
- Green Ag: Transforming Indian Agriculture for Global Environment benefits and the conservation of Critical Biodiversity and Forest landscape
Both the projects are from the United Nations which focus on Indian agriculture and
farmers. This is executed through the Ministry of Agriculture across all states of India. The entrepreneurs who supply to these projects are exempted from GST effective from 1st October 2019. Strengthening Capacities for Nutrition-sensitive Agriculture and Food systems: This project focus on the following:- Food handling, storage and processing
- Food trade and marketing
- Consumer demand, food preparation and preferences
- Cross-cutting issues
- Nutrition value chains
- Empowerment of women and gender equality
- Prevention, reduction and management of Food loss and waste
- Food quality, safety and hygiene
- Climate Change
- Biodiversity
- Land Degradation
The "Green Ag" is coordinated and executed by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change The exact notification is provided below: