9986 SAC Code: Support services to agriculture, hunting, forestry & more
SAC code 9986 is specifically designated for support services related to agriculture, forestry, fishing, animal husbandry, and other similar activities. This code encompasses a diverse range of services that play a vital role in supporting and enhancing these industries.
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Scope of SAC Code 9986
Services covered under SAC code 9986 include:
- Crop services: This category includes services such as soil preparation, planting, harvesting, crop spraying, irrigation, and other agricultural activities related to crop production.
- Livestock services: Professionals in this field provide services such as animal healthcare, breeding, feeding, livestock management, and other activities related to animal husbandry.
- Forestry services: This category encompasses services related to forest management, timber harvesting, reforestation, forest conservation, and other activities associated with forestry.
- Landscape gardening services: Professionals in this field offer services such as designing, planning, and maintenance of gardens, parks, landscapes, and other green spaces.
- Other agricultural support services: This includes a wide range of support services specific to agriculture, forestry, fishing, and animal husbandry activities. It may include services such as farm machinery and equipment rental, farm labor supply, pest control, consulting, training, and other related services.
Categorisation of SAC Code 9986
SAC Code 9986 under GST can be classified in the following ways:
| SAC Code | Description | Old GST Rate (till 21 Sep 2025) |
New GST Rate (from 22 Sep 2025) |
Notes on change / inclusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9986 | Support services to agriculture, forestry, fishing, animal husbandry. Services relating to cultivation of plants and rearing of all life forms of animals, except the rearing of horses, for food, fibre, fuel, raw material or other similar products or agricultural produce by way ofÑ (a) agricultural operations directly related to production of any agricultural produce including cultivation, harvesting, threshing, plant protection or testing; (b) supply of farm labour; (c) processes carried out at an agricultural farm including tending, pruning, cutting, harvesting, drying, cleaning, trimming, sun drying, fumigating, curing, sorting, grading, cooling or bulk packaging and such like operations which do not alter the essential characteristics of agricultural produce but make it only marketable for the primary market; (d) renting or leasing of agro machinery or vacant land with or without a structure incidental to its use; (e) loading, unloading, packing, storage or warehousing of agricultural produce; (f) agricultural extension services; (g) services by any Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee or Board or services provided by a commission agent for sale or purchase of agricultural produce. | 0% without ITC | 0% without ITC | Main agricultural support block remains fully exempt. Not part of the 12% / 28% to 5% / 18% shift. |
| 9986 | (h) services by way of fumigation in a warehouse of agricultural produce | 0% without ITC | 0% without ITC | Duplicate of the agri fumigation concept – continues as exempt. |
| 9986 | Carrying out an intermediate production process as job work in relation to cultivation of plants and rearing of all life forms of animals, except the rearing of horses, for food, fibre, fuel, raw material or other similar products or agricultural produce. | 0% without ITC | 0% without ITC | Job work directly tied to agricultural production continues to enjoy exemption. |
| 9986 | Services by way of artificial insemination of livestock (other than horses). | 0% without ITC | 0% without ITC | Classified as animal husbandry support; exemption remains untouched. |
| 9986 | Support services to mining, electricity, gas and water distribution | 18% with ITC | 18% with ITC | Industrial support services remain at 18% with ITC; not mentioned for any concessional movement. |
| 9986 | Service of exploration, mining or drilling of petroleum crude or natural gas or both. | 18% with ITC | 18% with ITC | Upstream oil and gas exploration and drilling continue at the standard slab. No change to 5% / 40% bucket. |
| 998611 | Support services to crop production | 0% without ITC | 0% without ITC | Many agri specific references and advance rulings treat core services directly relating to crop production under this code as exempt, mapping them to the exemption entry for services by way of agricultural operations. Where a service does not qualify as such an agri operation, 18% can apply, but the typical treatment for genuine crop support is 0% without ITC. |
| 998612 | Animal husbandry services | 0% without ITC | 0% without ITC | Services relating to rearing of animals for food, fibre or similar agricultural output are generally covered by the same exemption entry, so these are widely treated as exempt where they qualify as core animal husbandry. Non qualifying activities (for example, certain commercial breeding not tied to food or fibre) can fall under 18%, but the sheet can mark the primary rate as 0% without ITC for typical agri husbandry services. |
| 998613 | Support services to hunting | 18% with ITC | 18% with ITC | Hunting support does not fall within the agricultural exemption and is shown as taxable at 18% in SAC wise rate lists, with nil only for narrow certified sports event contracts. |
| 998614 | Support services to forestry and logging | 18% with ITC | 18% with ITC | Support to forestry and logging is generally taxed at 18%; rate tables mentioning 12% or nil are tied either to earlier dual rate structures or to specific sporting events. Under GST 2.0 this code sits in the standard 18% slab for normal supplies. |
| 998615 | Support services to fishing | 18% with ITC | 18% with ITC | Fishing support services, except where they clearly fall under a separate exemption, are treated as support services at 18%. Rate matrices again show 12% or nil in limited circumstances, not for typical commercial contracts. |
| 998619 | Other support services to agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing | 18% with ITC | 18% with ITC | This residual agri support code captures many mixed activities; detailed rate tables display 12% / 18% / nil depending on conditions. After slab rationalisation, the operative default for non exempt services is 18%, while activities that strictly meet the agricultural operations exemption remain at 0%. |
| 998621 | Support services to oil and gas extraction | 12% with ITC | 18% with ITC | Earlier notifications reduced GST on support services to exploration, mining or drilling of petroleum crude and natural gas to 12% to ease tax cost. Recent commentary and the GST Council decisions for Sept 2025 move such oil and gas exploration services firmly into the 18% slab to align with the new 5% / 18% / 40% structure. Event linked nil entries remain niche and have not been treated as typical in this sheet. |
| 998622 | Support services to other mining n.e.c. | 12% with ITC | 18% with ITC | Rate tables for agriculture / mining support show this code with a 12 / 18 structure plus a nil line only when certified as related to specific international sports events. Post-rationalisation, the concessional 12% entry is folded into the standard 18% slab, so typical mining support moves from 12% to 18%. |
| 998631 | Support services to electricity transmission and distribution | 12% with ITC | 18% with ITC | Utility-support tables show 12 / 18 plus nil for this code with the same event-linked condition. In practice, these intermediate services are treated like other B2B support and moved into the unified 18% band. |
| 998632 | Support services to gas distribution | 12% with ITC | 18% with ITC | Listed along with 998631 as 12 / 18 plus nil in support-service schedules. Under GST 2.0, the concessional 12% line is rationalised away and the typical commercial rate becomes 18% with ITC. |
| 998633 | Support services to water distribution | 12% with ITC | 18% with ITC | Treated similarly as support to utilities. The same 12 / 18 plus nil pattern appears, with the 12% entry now effectively converted to 18% as part of the slab simplification. |
| 998634 | Support services to Distribution services of steam, hot water and air-conditioning supply | 12% with ITC | 18% with ITC | Support for distribution of steam, hot water and air-conditioning supply is grouped with other 99863 utility support services and follows the same 12% concessional to 18% standard migration. |
Important Disclaimer
The entire content on this page has been arranged to the best of the author's understanding and is subject to periodic updates as per the law for the time being in force. The above does not constitute professional advice or a formal recommendation. While due care has been taken in preparing this content, the existence of mistakes and omissions cannot be ruled out. BUSY Infotech Private Ltd. and its associates will not be held responsible for any loss or damage arising from any inaccurate or incomplete information in this document. We recommend consulting a professional tax consultant before acting on the information contained in this piece of content.
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