The new GST rates apply from 22 September 2025 for services and most goods, with exceptions for certain tobacco products (pan masala, gutkha, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, unmanufactured tobacco and bidi), which will continue at existing rates until compensation cess loans are repaid.

Items That Got Cheaper

Dairy And Food Staples

Fruits, Nuts And Vegetables

• Dried nuts: Brazil nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, macadamia, kola, pine nuts – 12% → 5%

• Dried fruits: Dates, figs, mangoes, avocados, guavas, mangosteens – 12% → 5%

• Dried citrus fruits: Oranges, lemons, mandarins, grapefruit, limes – 12% → 5%

• Other dried fruits & mixtures – 12% → 5%

• Preserved vegetables & fruits (tomatoes, mushrooms, truffles, jams, marmalades, purees, juices, sugar-preserved fruits, coconut water) – 12% → 5%

Cereals, Confectionery And Bakery

Beverages

• Drinking water in 20-litre jars – 12% → 5%

• Plant-based milk beverages – 18% → 5%

• Soya milk drinks – 12% → 5%

• Fruit-pulp/juice drinks – 12% → 5%

• Beverages containing milk – 12% → 5%

• Ice cream and edible ice – 18% → 5%

Tea, Coffee And Condiments

• Coffee extracts, concentrates – 18% → 5%

• Tea extracts – 18% → 5%

• Roasted chicory – 12% → 5%

• Yeasts, baking powders – 12% → 5%

• Sauces, condiments, curry pastes, salad dressings – 12% → 5%

• Soups and broths – 18% → 5%

Personal Care And Household

• Hair oil, shampoo – 18% → 5%

• Toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss – 18% → 5%

• Tooth powder – 12% → 5%

• Talcum/face powder – 18% → 5%

• Toilet soap bars – 18% → 5%

• Candles, safety matches – 12% → 5%

• Feeding bottles, nipples – 12% → 5%

• Baby diapers & liners – 12% → 5%

• Kitchenware/tableware (steel, aluminium, copper, ceramics, wood) – 12% → 5%

• Umbrellas, sewing machines & needles – 12% → 5%

• Bicycles & parts – 12% → 5%

• Bamboo/cane furniture – 12% → 5%

• Hurricane & kerosene lamps – 12% → 5%

Education And Stationery

• Erasers – 5% → Nil

• Pencils, crayons, chalks – 12% → Nil

• Pencil sharpeners – 12% → Nil

• Exercise, lab, graph notebooks – 12% → Nil

• Uncoated paper for notebooks – 12% → Nil

• Maps, globes – 12% → Nil

• Stationery sets, cartons, pulp trays, biodegradable bags – 12% → 5%

• Wood pulps – 12% → 5%

Textiles And Apparel

• Man-made fibres – 18% → 5%

• Man-made yarn – 12% → 5%

• Technical textiles, non-wovens, coated fabrics – 12% → 5%

• Carpets & floor coverings – 12% → 5%

• Quilted textile products ≤ ₹2,500 – 12% → 5%

Agriculture And Fertilisers

• Micronutrients under FCO – 12% → 5%

• Gibberellic acid – 12% → 5%

• Bio-pesticides (Trichoderma, Pseudomonas, NPV, Neem, Cymbopogon) – 12% → 5%

• Sulphuric acid, nitric acid, ammonia – 18% → 5%

• Diesel engines ≤15HP, hand pumps – 12% → 5%

• Hydraulic pumps for tractors – 18% → 5%

• Agricultural machinery (soil prep, harvesting, threshing, balers, mowers, composters) – 12% → 5%

Energy And Appliances

• Solar cookers, solar heaters, PV cells, wind & waste-to-energy devices – 12% → 5%

• Air-conditioners, dishwashers – 28% → 18%

• Televisions, monitors, projectors, set-top boxes – 28% → 18%

• Composting machines – 12% → 5%

• Walkie-talkies for defence/police – 12% → 5%

Automobiles And Transport

• Small cars (≤1200cc petrol, ≤1500cc diesel, ≤4000mm length) – 28% → 18%

• Hybrids within small-car specs – 28% → 18%

• Motorcycles ≤350cc – 28% → 18%

• Three-wheelers, goods vehicles, ambulances – 28% → 18%

• Auto seats, auto parts – 28%/varied → 18% uniform

• Tractor parts, tyres – 18% → 5%

• Bicycles & parts – 12% → 5%

Health And Medical

• 33 life-saving drugs – 12% → Nil

• 3 critical drugs – 5% → Nil

• All other drugs – 12% → 5%

• Medical devices (surgical, dental, veterinary, diagnostic) – 18% → 5%

• Diagnostic kits & reagents – 12% → 5%

• Medical oxygen, hydrogen peroxide (medicinal) – 12% → 5%

• Antisera, glands, biologics – 12% → 5%

• Rubber gloves – 12% → 5%

• Spectacles, frames, lenses – 12% → 5%

Construction And Raw Materials

• Cement – 28% → 18%

• Marble, granite blocks – 12% → 5%

Handicrafts, Leather, Wood, Coir

• Handicrafts of wood, stone, glass, metal, ceramic, toys, statues – 12% → 5%

• Leather intermediates – 12% → 5%

• Wood & cork articles – 12% → 5%

• Coir products (excl. mattresses) – 12% → 5%

• Live horses – 12% → 5%

Defence

• Tanks & armoured fighting vehicles – 12% → 5%

Items That Get Costlier

Beverages

• Carbonated fruit drinks – 28% → 40%

• Caffeinated beverages – 28% → 40%

• Aerated waters with sugar – 28% → 40%

• Other non-alcoholic beverages – 18% → 40%

Tobacco Products

• Cigars, cigarettes, cigarillos – 28% → 40%

• Other manufactured tobacco products – 28% → 40%

• Unmanufactured tobacco (other than leaves) – 28% → 40%

• Nicotine inhalation products – 28% → 40%

• Bidis – 28% → 18%

• Bidi wrapper leaves, Indian katha – 18% → 5%

Automobiles & Luxury

• Large cars, SUVs (beyond small-car specs) – 28% → 40%

• Hybrids above small-car specs – 28% → 40%

• Motorcycles >350cc – 28% → 40%

• Yachts & pleasure craft – 28% → 40%

• Aircraft for personal use – 28% → 40%

Energy & Resources

• Coal, lignite, peat – 5% → 18%

Paper & Textiles

• Certain kraft/coated papers, pulps – 12% → 18%

• Apparel & made-ups >₹2,500 – 12% → 18%

• Quilts >₹2,500 – 12% → 18%

Menthol

• Non-natural menthol & derivatives – 12% → 18%

Services

• Air travel (non-economy) – 12% → 18%

• Passenger transport by motor vehicle (ITC option) – 12% → 18%

• Goods transport agency (ITC option) – 12% → 18%

• Pipeline transport (crude, gas, fuels) – 12% → 18%

• Renting motor vehicles (with operator, ITC option) – 12% → 18%

• Works contracts (≥75% earthwork for Govt) – 12% → 18%

• Sub-contracts for above works – 12% → 18%

• Offshore oil & gas works – 12% → 18%

• Casinos, race clubs, betting, online gaming – 28% → 40%

Items Exempt From GST

Food & Education

• UHT milk, paneer, roti, parotta, pizza bread – Nil

• Erasers, pencils, crayons, sharpeners, notebooks, school paper, maps, globes – Nil

Health & Insurance

• 33 life-saving drugs – Nil

• 3 critical medicines – Nil

• All individual life insurance policies & reinsurance – Exempt

• All individual health insurance policies & reinsurance – Exempt

Defence & Imports

• Specified defence imports (aircraft, drones, simulators, missiles, sonobuoys, batteries, spares) – Nil

• Dutiable articles for personal use – 28% → 18%

• Drugs & medicines for personal use – 12% → 5%

Services That Got Cheaper

• Hotel accommodation ≤ ₹7,500/night – 12% → 5% (without ITC)

• Beauty & wellness (gyms, salons, barbers, yoga) – 18% → 5% (without ITC)

• Job work (textiles, apparel, footwear, pharma, leather, umbrellas, bricks, printing) – 12% → 5%

• Goods transport by rail/containers – 12% → 5%

• Leasing of railway rolling stock – 12% → 5%

• Renting of goods carriages – 12% → 5%

• Third-party insurance of goods carriages – 12% → 5%

• CETP (effluent treatment) – 12% → 5%

• CBWTF (biomedical waste) – 12% → 5%

• Cinema tickets ≤ ₹100 – 12% → 5%

Compliance And Trade Facilitation

• RSP valuation for pan masala & tobacco.

• GSTAT: appeals by Sept 2025, hearings by Dec 2025, backlog cut-off June 2026.

• Refunds: 90% provisional refunds for inverted duty; export refund thresholds removed.

• Registration: simplified for low-risk applicants & ECO suppliers.

• Place of supply: intermediary services shifted to the recipient’s location.

• Post-sale discounts: clarified with ITC reversal by recipients.

• Restaurants: standalone can’t opt for 18% with ITC.

• E-commerce local deliveries: notified under Section 9(5).

Conclusion

This is the full authoritative reference to the 56th GST Council meeting decisions. It captures every rate change (upward, downward, or Nil), plus compliance reforms. For consumers, it means cheaper essentials, health, education and mobility. For businesses, it brings clarity, faster refunds and easier compliance. For the exchequer, higher rates on luxury and sin goods strike a balance with public health and fiscal needs.