GST Rates 2025 0% vs 5% vs 18% – Full List of Items Under New Structure

From September 22, 2025, India’s next-generation GST reforms come into effect, simplifying tax slabs to 0%, 5%, and 18%. The move aims to make essential goods and services more affordable for households, middle-class families, and small businesses.

Under the new structure:

0% GST covers essential food items, medicines, and insurance premiums, giving relief to daily household expenses.5% GST applies to items like dairy products, packaged foods, certain personal care products, and agricultural inputs.
18% GST is levied on higher-value goods, textiles, certain machinery, and household appliances.

This GST overhaul, dubbed the “GST Bachat Utsav” by the government, also impacts luxury and sin goods, which are taxed at higher rates like 40%. Here’s the complete list of items under each slab to help you understand how the reforms affect your purchases.

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Next-Gen GST Reforms Take Effect from September 22, 2025

In a festive boost at the start of Navratri, the government’s next-generation GST reforms officially roll out today, September 22, 2025. These sweeping changes are set to bring relief to the common man and the middle class as a wide range of household goods, cars, TVs, and two-wheelers become cheaper.

A key highlight is that many essential food items—including roti, parantha, paneer, and khakra—have now been moved to the 0% (NIL) tax bracket.
In a significant benefit for families, health and life insurance premiums are now fully exempt from GST.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman first announced the reforms earlier this month, simplifying GST into two primary slabs: 5% and 18%.

While most goods and services will see tax cuts, a few categories will face higher rates—for example, clothes priced above ₹2,500 will now attract 18% GST, up from the previous 12%. Addressing the nation on the eve of the rollout, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the

0% or NIL GST Rate – Key Items

Food & Household Staples: UHT milk, chena/paneer (pre-packaged and labelled), pizza bread, khakhra, chapati/roti, paratha/parotta and other Indian breads
Medicines & Life-saving Drugs: Includes Agalsidase Beta, Imiglucerase, Eptacog alfa, Onasemnogene abeparvovec, Asciminib, Mepolizumab, Pegylated Liposomal Irinotecan, Daratumumab (including subcutaneous), Teclistamab, Amivantamab, Alectinib, Risdiplam, Obinutuzumab, Polatuzumab vedotin, Entrectinib, Atezolizumab, Spesolimab, Velaglucerase Alpha, Agalsidase Alfa, Rurioctocog Alpha Pegol, Idursulphatase, Alglucosidase Alfa, Laronidase, Olipudase Alfa, Tepotinib, Avelumab, Emicizumab, Belumosudil, Miglustat, Velmanase Alfa, Alirocumab, Evolocumab, Cystamine Bitartrate, CI-Inhibitor injection, Inclisiran
Stationery: Erasers, uncoated paper and paperboard used for exercise books, graph books, laboratory notebooks; exercise books and notebooks themselves; maps, hydrographic charts, atlases, wall maps, topographical plans, and globes (printed)
Insurance: All individual health insurance and life insurance policies, including reinsurance

5% GST Rate – Key Items (Effective September 22, 2025)

The following goods now attract 5% GST under the new tax structure:

Food & Beverages

Condensed milk; butter, ghee, dairy spreads and other milk fats
Cheese; Brazil nuts; dried fruits and nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, chestnuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, pine nuts
Dates, figs, dried pineapples, avocados, guavas, mangoes (except sliced dried mango) and mangosteens
Dried citrus fruits (oranges, mandarins, lemons, limes, grapefruits) and other dried fruits
Malt, starches, inulin; yeast; baking powders
Sugar products including refined sugar with flavouring or colouring, sugar cubes, caramel, maltose, glucose and fructose
Cocoa butter, cocoa powder, chocolates, sugar confectionery
Pasta (spaghetti, macaroni, noodles, ravioli, lasagne etc.), corn flakes, bulgar wheat, fortified rice kernels (FRK)
Pastries, cakes, biscuits, namkeens, bhujia, mixtures and similar savoury snacks (pre-packaged and labelled)
Ice cream and edible ice, diabetic foods, soups, broths, sauces, curry pastes, mayonnaise, salad dressings, mustard
Fruit juices and plant-based beverages (including soya milk and fruit pulp drinks, but excluding carbonated fruit drinks)
Tender coconut water (pre-packaged and labelled)

Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals

A wide range of medicines and life-saving drugs (e.g., Fluticasone Furoate + Umeclidinium + Vilanterol, Brentuximab Vedotin, Ocrelizumab, Pertuzumab, Faricimab)
Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha, Homoeopathic and Bio-chemic medicaments in retail packs
Wadding, gauze, bandages, surgical dressings and sterile medical goods
Diagnostic kits and reagents, medical-grade oxygen, anaesthetics

Daily-Use & Personal Care

Talcum powder, face powder, hair oil, shampoo, shaving cream and aftershave lotion
Dental care products such as toothpaste, tooth powder, dental floss
Toilet soaps (other than industrial), candles and handcrafted candles
Feeding bottles, nipples, plastic beads

Agricultural & Industrial Inputs

Bio-pesticides (e.g., Bacillus thuringiensis strains, neem-based pesticides)
Micronutrients covered under the Fertilizer Control Order
Natural menthol, peppermint oil and related mentha derivatives

Other Goods

Leather products (handbags, shopping bags, gloves), wooden idols and artware
Paper products including handmade paper, cartons, boxes, and biodegradable paper bags
Bamboo flooring, carved wood products, wooden frames, tableware and kitchenware of wood
Natural cork articles, agglomerated cork goods, shuttlecock cork bottoms
Tractor tyres, tubes, and surgical rubber gloves

18% GST Rate – Major Items (Effective September 22, 2025)

The following goods and services now attract 18% GST under the new slab:

Construction & Energy

Bidis*
Portland, aluminous, slag and super sulphate cement (including clinkers)
Coal, lignite (excluding jet), peat and solid fuels made from coal

Flavours & Chemicals

Goods made from synthetic menthol and derivatives: menthol crystals, peppermint (Mentha) oil, fractionated/de-terpinated mentha oil (DTMO), de-mentholised oil (DMO), spearmint oil, Mentha piperita oil
Odoriferous preparations which operate by burning (excluding agarbattis, lobhan, dhoop)
Biodiesel (except that supplied to Oil Marketing Companies for blending with High Speed Diesel)

Paper & Packaging

Chemical wood pulp (dissolving grades)
Uncoated writing/printing paper and paperboard (other than exercise books and similar notebooks)
Uncoated kraft paper and board
Greaseproof and glassine papers, composite and coated paper and paperboard
Corrugated and embossed papers

Apparel & Textiles

Knitted or crocheted apparel and clothing accessories priced above ₹2,500 per piece
Non-knitted apparel and made-up textile articles priced above ₹2,500 per piece (excluding worn clothing and rags)

Automobile & Machinery

Spark-ignition internal combustion piston engines (except aircraft engines)
Diesel or semi-diesel engines
Engine parts; fuel and lubricating pumps for internal combustion engines
Air-conditioning machines with temperature/humidity control
Dishwashing machines (household and industrial)

40% GST Rate – Luxury & Sin Goods

The 40% GST slab applies to sin and luxury goods, including:

Pan masala*
Unmanufactured tobacco and tobacco refuse (excluding tobacco leaves)*
Cigars, cheroots, cigarillos, cigarettes of tobacco or substitutes*
Other manufactured tobacco and substitutes; tobacco extracts and essences*
Products containing tobacco or nicotine intended for inhalation without combustion*

High-End Beverages & Vehicles

Aerated waters and all non-alcoholic beverages containing added sugar or flavour
Caffeinated beverages
Carbonated fruit drinks or beverages with fruit juice

Luxury Vehicles & Equipment

High-end motor cars and SUVs exceeding prescribed engine capacity/length
Hybrid motor vehicles (petrol engines >1200cc or diesel engines >1500cc and length >4000 mm)
Motorcycles with engine capacity exceeding 350 cc
Personal-use aircraft, yachts, and pleasure/sports vessels
Revolvers and pistols (other than specified defence items)
Smoking pipes, cigar or cigarette holders and parts thereof

Gaming & Betting

Specified actionable claims involving betting, casinos, gambling, horse racing, lottery or online money gaming

Note: For items marked with an asterisk (*), the new rates will come into effect on a date to be separately notified, after the government settles all pending compensation-cess liabilities.

Conclusion

The next-generation GST reforms are effective from today, September 22, 2025, simplifying taxation into 0%, 5%, and 18% slabs. Consumers across India are already benefitting from reduced prices on essential goods, household items, and services, while luxury and sin goods remain taxed at higher rates.

These reforms are designed to boost savings, make everyday essentials more affordable, and encourage smarter spending. Understanding the new GST structure helps households, middle-class families, and small businesses plan purchases wisely and maximise their savings.

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