GST Rate List in India 2026 - Summary
GST is a single tax that replaced many old taxes like VAT, service tax, and excise duty. The rate list helps people understand how much tax they need to pay when they buy or sell goods and services.
Earlier, GST had four tax rates: 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%. These have now been simplified into just two rates: 5% and 18%. This makes the system easier to understand and fairer for consumers. However, some luxury and harmful items such as expensive cars, tobacco, and cigarettes will continue to be taxed at a much higher special rate of 40%. This ensures that essential items remain affordable, while luxury and non-essential products contribute more in taxes.
List of Items Taxed at 0% GST Rate
| Products | GST Rate |
| Milk | 0% |
| Kajal | 0% |
| Eggs | 0% |
| Educational Services | 0% |
| Curd | 0% |
| Lassi | 0% |
| Health Services | 0% |
| Children’s Drawing & Colouring Books | 0% |
| Unpacked Foodgrains | 0% |
| Unbranded Atta/Maida | 0% |
| Unpacked Paneer | 0% |
| Gur | 0% |
| Besan | 0% |
| Unbranded Natural Honey | 0% |
| Fresh Vegetables | 0% |
| Salt | 0% |
| Prasad | 0% |
| Palmyra Jaggery | 0% |
| Phool Bhari Jhadoo | 0% |
List of Items Taxed at 5% GST Rate
List of Items Taxed at 12% GST Rate
| Products | GST Rate |
| Butter | 12% |
| Ghee | 12% |
| Processed food | 12% |
| Almonds | 12% |
| Mobiles | 12% |
| Fruit Juice | 12% |
| Preparations of Vegetables | 12% |
| Fruits | 12% |
| Nuts or other parts of Plants, including Pickle Murabba | 12% |
| Chutney | 12% |
| Jam | 12% |
| Jelly | 12% |
| Packed Coconut Water | 12% |
| Umbrella | 12% |
GST New Rate List
| Category | Items | Old GST Rate | New GST Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food & Beverage | Chapati, paranthas, UHT milk, paneer, pizza bread, khakra | 5% | Nil |
| Butter, ghee, dry nuts, condensed milk, sausages, jam, confectionery, ice cream, biscuits, cereals, juices, namkeen, packed water, pastries | 18% | 5% | |
| Other fats & cheese | 12% | 5% | |
| Plant-based & soya milk drinks | 18% / 12% | 5% | |
| Household Items | Tooth powder, feeding bottles, tableware, kitchenware, umbrellas, bicycles, bamboo furniture, combs | 12% | 5% |
| Shampoo, talc, toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, hair oil | 18% | 5% | |
| Household Appliances | ACs, dishwashers, TVs | 28% | 18% |
| Stationery | Maps, charts, globes, pencils, sharpeners, crayons, notebooks | 12% | Nil |
| Erasers | 5% | Nil | |
| Footwear & Textiles | All | 12% | 5% |
| Healthcare | Life-saving drugs, devices, thermometers, oxygen, kits, glucometers, spectacles | 12% / 18% | 5% / Nil |
| Insurance & Policies | Life & health insurance | Taxable | Nil |
| Goods carriage insurance | 12% | 5% (with ITC) | |
| Hotels & Flights | Rooms up to ₹7,500 | 12% | 5% (no ITC) |
| Economy air tickets | – | 5% | |
| Vehicles & Auto Parts | Motorcycles ≤350cc, small hybrids | 28% | 18% |
| EVs | 5% | 5% | |
| Auto components | 28% | 18% | |
| Small petrol/diesel/CNG vehicles | 28% | 18% | |
| Construction | Cement | 28% | 18% |
| Sewing Machines | Machines & parts | 12% | 5% |
| Agricultural Machinery | Diesel engines ≤15HP, hand pumps, irrigation equipment, harvesters, composting machines, tractors, trailers, carts | 12% | 5% |
| Fertiliser inputs (acids, ammonia), biopesticides, neem-based pesticides, micro-nutrients | 12% / 18% | 5% | |
| Tractor components (tyres, tubes, pumps, gearboxes, radiators, etc.) | 18% | 5% | |
| Beauty & Fitness Services | Salons, gyms, yoga, barbers, health clubs | 18% | 5% (no ITC) |
List of Items Taxed at 3% GST Rate
| Products | GST Rate |
| Imitation jewellery | 3% |
| Articles of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal | 3% |
| Natural pearls or cultured pearls, whether or not worked or graded but not strung, mounted or set; or temporarily strung for convenience of transport | 3% |
| Diamonds, whether or not worked, but not mounted or set (Excludes non-industrial) | 3% |
| Precious stones (other than diamonds) and semi-precious stones | 3% |
| Silver | 3% |
| Gold | 3% |
| Waste and scrap of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal | 3% |
List of Items Taxed at 0.25% GST Rate
| Products | GST Rate |
| Non-industrial diamonds | 0.25% |
| unworked precious/semi-precious stones | 0.25% |
| Synthetic or reconstructed precious or semi-precious stones | 0.25% |
57th GST Council Meeting – Key Highlights
57th GST Council meeting was held on 8th October 2026 under the chairmanship of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The meeting introduced landmark procedural simplifications, decriminalization reforms, expanded Input Tax Credit (ITC) coverage, and automated refund mechanisms-primarily set to take effect from 1st April 2027. Below are the key decisions and highlights in list format:
1. Decriminalization and Prosecution Norms
- Removal of Arrest Powers: The Council recommended doing away with the powers of GST tax officials to arrest taxpayers, supporting a non-adversarial, trust-driven compliance environment.
- Higher Monetary Threshold for Prosecution: The monetary limit required to launch criminal prosecution has been enhanced five-fold-from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore.
- Removal of Minimum Imprisonment: The statutory requirement for a minimum jail term has been removed; the determination of quantum of fine, imprisonment, or both is now entrusted to judicial discretion.
2. Compliance Relief and Notice Thresholds
- Reduction in General Penalties: The general penalty applicable to minor procedural infractions (where no specific statutory penalty is prescribed) has been reduced from ₹25,000 to ₹10,000.
- No Tax Demand Notices Below ₹10,000: Tax authorities will no longer issue demand notices or audit observations for amounts below ₹10,000. All currently pending notices below this threshold will be dropped or withdrawn.
- Automated Non-Core Registration Updates: Routine changes in GST registration details will now be approved automatically by the portal without manual scrutiny by tax officers.
- Facility for Small E-Commerce Sellers: Micro and small sellers transacting through online marketplaces can now designate the warehouse/fulfillment center of an e-commerce operator as their “Principal Place of Business” for streamlined interstate trade.
3. Input Tax Credit (ITC) & Automated Refunds
- Expansion of Eligible ITC: Input Tax Credit has been made admissible on health and life insurance provided by employers to employees, telecom towers, pipelines laid outside factory perimeters, free commercial samples, and damaged/expired stocks requiring destruction by law.
- Faster Refund Approvals: The statutory timeline for tax officers to issue refund acknowledgements or deficiency memos has been curtailed from 15 days down to 10 days.
- Automated 90% Provisional Refund: For exporters (zero-rated supplies) and inverted duty structures, 90% of the refund claim will be provisionally credited via a risk-managed automated system without manual intervention.
- Inverted Duty Refund on Input Services: Refund eligibility under inverted duty structure has been broadened to cover input services for credits availed on or after 1st November 2026.
4. Rate Rationalization & Assessment Architecture
- Annual GST Rate Adjustment Cycle: To provide certainty and predictability to trade and industry, GST rate adjustments will now be undertaken only once a year, with revised rates taking effect from the start of the next financial year (1st April).
- No Individual Rate Adjustments: No specific tariff or rate changes were introduced in this meeting.
- Pan-India Faceless Assessment for CGST: An electronic faceless assessment regime is set to be rolled out for CGST taxpayers operating across multiple states, aligning with the faceless income tax assessment process.
GST Tax Slab Rates List for Goods
| 5% GST Rate | Spices, Frozen vegetables, Rusk, Fish fillet, Pizza bread, Sabudana, Tea, Baby milk food, Plain Chapati & Khakhra, Floor covering, Fertilizers, Footwear under ₹ 1,000, Apparels under ₹ 1,000, Real zari, Agarbatti, Pizza bread, Edible Oils, Skimmed milk, Medicines, Paper waste, Revenue stamps, Stent, Ethanol, Mehndi Paste, Insulin, Scrap of Glass, Velvet Fabric, Plastic waste, Post stamps, Stamp, Postmarks, Tamarind Kernel Powder, Plastic waste, Coir mats, Matting, First Day Covers, Braille Watches, Sliced mango, Domestic LPG |
|---|---|
| 12% GST Rate | Cakes, Drip Irrigation System, Photographers, Pack water bottle of 20 litre, Butter, Mechanical sprayers, Ghee, Almonds, Pouches, purses and Handbags, Fruits, Art, ware of iron, Boiled sugar confectionery, Packaged coconut water, Pickle, Mirrors, framed with Ornaments, Nuts, Bamboo wood building, Chutney, Apparel above ₹ 1,000, Jam, Bhujia, Notebooks, Frozen meat, Animal fat sausage, Packaged dry fruits, Cake servers, Packed Dry Fruits, Ladles, Forks, Mobile, Toothpowder, Non-AC Restaurants, State-run Lotteries, Work Contracts, Tongs, Fish knives, Jelly, Brass Kerosene Pressure Stove, Fertilizer – grade Phosphoric Acid, Playing Cards, Carom board, Chessboard, Skimmers, Spoons, Manmade Yarn, Sewing Thread of Manmade Staple Fibres, Murabba, Biodiesel and select biopesticides, Ludo, Exercise Books, Preparation of vegetables |
| 18% GST Rate | Washing Machine, Vacuum Cleaner, Pasta, Tyres, Biscuits, Vanity case, Pastries, Soups, Preserved Vegetables, Camera, Curry paste, Instant food mixes, Shampoo, Printers, Mixed condiments, Computers, Mixed Seasonings, CCTV, Hair Dryers, Electric transformer, Tissues, Steel products, Electrical transformer, Stationery items, Paint, Sheets, Kajal pencil sticks, Pumps, Sanitaryware, Binoculars, Varnishes, Speakers, Water Heaters, Fans, Goggles, Safety Glass, Circuits, Optical fibre, Hair Shavers, Windows, Fridge, Foliage, Door, Compressors, Multifunctional Printers, Telescope, Modelling Paste for Children, Branded Garments, Musical instruments and their parts, Razor and razor blades, Light fitting, Some parts of pumps, Glassware, TV, Aluminium Foil Furniture, Paddling Pools, Cigarette Filter Rods, Headgear, Mayonnaise, Steel Products, Electrical boards, panels and wires, Juicer Mixer, Power Banks with Lithium ion batteries, video games, carriage accessories for the disabled, small sport related items, Salad dressings, Footwear priced above ₹ 500, Washing Powder, Toiletries, Poster Colours, Large and medium cars (Second hand). SUVs, Swimming pools and padding pools, Woven and Non-woven bags |
| 28% GST Rate | Personal Aircraft, Sunscreen, Tobacco, Hair clippers, Bidis, Weighing machine ,Waffles plus wafers which are coated with chocolate, Wallpaper, ATM Vending Machine, Yachts, Motorcycles, Ceramic tiles, Dishwasher, Aerated Water, Pan Masala |
You can download the GST Rates List PDF format using the link given below.
