India's Goods and Services Tax has five main slabs — 0%, 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28% — plus a special 3% rate for gold and 0.25% for rough diamonds. Below is a complete reference, organised by slab, with common items and their HSN codes. Updated for the latest CBIC notifications.
Essential goods and services. Either fully exempt (no tax, no ITC) or zero-rated (no tax, but ITC allowed — typically for exports and SEZ supplies).
| HSN / SAC | Item | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 0401 | Fresh milk & pasteurised milk (not UHT) | Exempt |
| 0701–0714 | Fresh vegetables, potatoes, onions, tomatoes | Exempt |
| 0801–0814 | Fresh fruits — bananas, apples, mangoes, citrus | Exempt |
| 1001 | Wheat & meslin (other than seed) | Exempt; unbranded |
| 1006 | Rice (other than branded, packaged) | Exempt; unbranded loose |
| 1701 | Jaggery, palmyra sugar | Exempt |
| 2201 | Water (other than aerated, mineral, packaged) | Exempt |
| 3004 | Life-saving drugs (specified list) | Specified list — verify |
| 4901 | Printed books, newspapers, journals | Exempt |
| 4905 | Maps, atlases, globes | Exempt |
| 9603 | Brooms, broom-sticks (handmade) | Exempt |
| 9966 | Renting of agricultural machinery | Service exempt |
| 9992 | Education services (recognised institutions) | Service exempt |
| 9993 | Healthcare services by hospitals/clinical establishments | Service exempt |
| 9971 | Banking — interest, deposit, lending | Service exempt |
Household essentials, packaged food, common transport, and low-income healthcare. The "concessional" slab.
| HSN / SAC | Item | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0402 | Milk powder, condensed milk, UHT milk | 5% |
| 0901 | Coffee (roasted, decaffeinated) | 5% |
| 0902 | Tea, packaged | 5% |
| 1006 | Branded, packaged rice | 5% |
| 1101 | Wheat flour, atta — pre-packaged | 5% |
| 1507 | Soyabean oil & other vegetable oils, edible | 5% |
| 1701 | Sugar (white, refined) | 5% |
| 1905 | Bread, rusks, biscuits (price ≤ ₹100/kg) | 5% |
| 2202 | Tender coconut water (packaged) | 5% |
| 2710 | Kerosene oil (PDS) | 5% |
| 3004 | Medicines, formulations (non-life-saving) | 5% |
| 3006 | Diagnostic kits, surgical dressings | 5% |
| 5208 | Cotton fabric, woven | 5% |
| 6101–6117 | Apparel — sale price ≤ ₹1,000 per piece | 5% |
| 6401 | Footwear — sale price ≤ ₹1,000 per pair | 5% |
| 8702 | Buses (used for public transport) | 5% |
| 8703 | Electric vehicles (passenger cars) | 5% |
| 9963 | Restaurant services (non-AC, no liquor licence) | 5% |
| 9964 | Economy class air travel (domestic) | 5% |
| 9965 | Goods transport by GTA (without ITC) | 5% |
| 9967 | Cab aggregator services (Ola, Uber) | 5% |
Processed food, mid-priced consumer goods, business-class travel, and certain services.
| HSN / SAC | Item | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0402 | Butter, ghee, cheese | 12% |
| 0805 | Dried fruits — almonds, pistachios, raisins | 12% |
| 1701 | Sugar confectionery, mithai | 12% |
| 1905 | Biscuits, pastries — >₹100/kg | 12% |
| 2002 | Tomato ketchup, preserved tomatoes | 12% |
| 2009 | Fruit juices, packaged | 12% |
| 3304 | Toothpaste (specified ayurvedic) | 12% |
| 4202 | Handbags, school bags (non-leather) | 12% |
| 4823 | Diaries, exercise books, registers | 12% |
| 6101–6117 | Apparel — sale price > ₹1,000 per piece | 12% |
| 6401 | Footwear — sale price > ₹1,000 per pair | 12% |
| 7321 | Stoves, kerosene burners | 12% |
| 8443 | Printers, photocopiers | 12% |
| 8712 | Bicycles & parts | 12% |
| 9404 | Mattresses, quilts, pillows | 12% |
| 9954 | Construction services (with ITC; affordable housing 1%) | 12% |
| 9963 | Restaurant services (non-AC, with liquor licence) | 12% |
| 9964 | Business class air travel | 12% |
| 996331 | Hotels — room rent ₹1,001 to ₹7,500/day | 12% |
The default rate for most professional services and a wide range of consumer goods. If you're not sure what slab a service falls in, 18% is the educated guess.
| HSN / SAC | Item | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1704 | Sugar confectionery (premium, branded) | 18% |
| 1806 | Chocolate & cocoa preparations | 18% |
| 1901 | Cornflakes, breakfast cereals | 18% |
| 2106 | Ice cream, ready-to-eat namkeen | 18% |
| 3304 | Cosmetics — face cream, makeup | 18% |
| 3401 | Soaps (toilet, laundry) | 18% |
| 3923 | Plastic items — bottles, jars, packaging | 18% |
| 3917 | Plastic pipes, fittings | 18% |
| 4811 | Paper & paperboard (coated) | 18% |
| 4818 | Toilet paper, sanitary napkins, tissues | 18% |
| 6802 | Marble, granite (worked) | 18% |
| 6907 | Ceramic tiles, sanitary ware (basic) | 18% |
| 7213 | Iron & steel bars, rods (TMT) | 18% |
| 7308 | Steel structures, fabricated | 18% |
| 8415 | Air conditioners (refer also 28% slab) | 18% |
| 8443 | Printers, scanners, multi-function devices | 18% |
| 8471 | Computers, laptops, tablets | 18% |
| 8517 | Mobile phones, smartphones | 18% |
| 8528 | Television sets up to 32" | 18% |
| 9961 | Wholesale trade services | 18% |
| 9962 | Retail trade services | 18% |
| 9963 | Restaurant services (AC, or in 5★+ hotels) | 18% |
| 9971 | Financial services — fee-based (advisory, broking) | 18% |
| 9981 | Research & development services | 18% |
| 9983 | Engineering & technical consulting | 18% |
| 9984 | Telecom services | 18% |
| 9985 | Cable TV, broadcasting services | 18% |
| 998313 | IT consulting | 18% |
| 998314 | Software development services | 18% |
| 998315 | Hosting & cloud services | 18% |
| 998222 | Accounting & bookkeeping services | 18% |
| 998223 | Tax consultancy, GST filing services | 18% |
| 998211 | Legal advisory services | 18% |
| 998361 | Advertising services | 18% |
| 998371 | Graphic design, branding | 18% |
| 996332 | Hotels — room rent > ₹7,500/day | 18% |
High-end goods and "sin" categories. Many items in this slab also attract compensation cess on top.
| HSN / SAC | Item | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2106 | Pan masala (+ cess) | 28% |
| 2202 | Aerated drinks — cola, soda (+ 12% cess) | 28% |
| 2402 | Cigarettes, tobacco products (+ heavy cess) | 28% |
| 2403 | Chewing tobacco, gutkha | 28% |
| 2523 | Cement (all types — Portland, slag, white) | 28% |
| 3303 | Perfumes, eau de toilette | 28% |
| 4011 | Tyres (new) for cars, trucks, buses | 28% |
| 8407 | Internal combustion engines (specified) | 28% |
| 8415 | Air conditioners (split, window, central) | 28% |
| 8418 | Refrigerators, freezers (large) | 28% |
| 8422 | Dishwashers | 28% |
| 8450 | Washing machines (auto, semi-auto) | 28% |
| 8528 | TV sets > 32" (LED, OLED, large) | 28% |
| 8703 | Cars (petrol/diesel; cess varies by engine size) | 28% |
| 8711 | Motorcycles > 350cc | 28% |
| 9302 | Revolvers, pistols (licensed) | 28% |
| 9504 | Video game consoles, gambling articles | 28% |
| 9508 | Amusement park, casino tickets | 28% |
| HSN | Item | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 7102 | Diamonds — non-industrial (cut, polished) | 0.25% |
| 7102 | Rough diamonds (unworked) | 0.25% |
| 7108 | Gold (unwrought, semi-manufactured) | 3% |
| 7106 | Silver (unwrought, semi-manufactured) | 3% |
| 7113 | Articles of jewellery (gold, silver, platinum) | 3% |
| 7110 | Platinum (unwrought, semi-manufactured) | 3% |
When GST replaced VAT, Excise, Service Tax and a dozen other state and central taxes on 1 July 2017, the GST Council settled on a multi-rate structure rather than a single rate. The reasoning was social: a single rate (say 18%) would make essential goods too expensive for low-income consumers, while making luxury goods too cheap for high-income consumers. So the slab system creates a graduated tax burden — lower rates on what the poor consume, higher rates on what the rich consume.
0% / NIL — essential goods (fresh produce, unbranded grain, healthcare, education). 5% — household essentials and mass-consumption items (packaged food, common transport). 12% — standard goods at moderate prices. 18% — the default slab for most services and many consumer goods. If you're a service provider in India, your invoices will mostly be 18%. 28% — luxury and "demerit" goods (cars, cement, ACs, tobacco), often with additional compensation cess.
On certain items — chiefly tobacco, aerated drinks, motor vehicles, and coal — there is a cess levied on top of the 28% GST. The cess goes into a separate fund used to compensate states for revenue loss from GST implementation. Cess rates are highly variable (e.g., 1% to 22% on cars depending on engine and length) and change with each Council meeting.
Small businesses with turnover below ₹1.5 crore (₹75 lakh for special category states) can opt for the Composition Scheme — flat 1% (traders), 5% (restaurants), or 6% (other) on turnover, with no ITC. It simplifies returns to a single quarterly statement but bars you from issuing tax invoices or making interstate sales. Suitable for B2C-only businesses.
GST rates change through CBIC notifications issued after each GST Council meeting (held quarterly). Recent shifts have been mostly downward — e.g., reduction of GST on EVs to 5%, on some hotel rooms, on certain medical devices. LekhaBooks's HSN dictionary is updated within 30 days of any major notification.
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