About Chapter 16
Chapter 16 of the Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) is titled “Preparations of meat, of fish, of crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates or of insects”. It is part of Section IV, Prepared Foodstuffs, Beverages, Tobacco, together with Chapter 17 (sugars and sugar confectionery), Chapter 18 (cocoa and cocoa preparations), Chapter 19 (preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk), Chapter 20 (preparations of vegetables, fruit), Chapter 21 (miscellaneous edible preparations), Chapter 22 (beverages, spirits and vinegar), Chapter 23 (residues and waste from the food industries) and Chapter 24 (tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes, products).
The chapter is divided into 5 headings, from 1601 (sausages and similar products, of meat, meat offal, blood or insects) to 1605 (crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates, prepared or preserved).
Every heading is listed below. Under each are the codes that have their own page on Laabam One, 2 codes in this chapter, each with its full classification: its chapter, heading and sub-heading, and the codes beside it.
Every code in this chapter begins with 16: four digits make a heading, six a sub-heading, and eight a tariff item of India's Customs Tariff. How many of those digits a GST tax invoice shows depends on the business, not the goods: under Notification No. 78/2020 – Central Tax, from 1 April 2021, four digits where aggregate turnover in the previous financial year was up to ₹5 crore, and six above it. Up to ₹5 crore, the code may be left off invoices to unregistered buyers.
No GST rate is shown here. GST rates were revised in September 2025, and a rate appears on this site only once it has been checked against the CBIC rate notifications.
Sources: Notification No. 78/2020 – Central Tax (HSN digits on invoices).