New GST Rates in India 2026: The Full Slab List After GST 2.0

India's GST rate structure changed more in September 2025 than at any point since GST launched in 2017. If you're still pricing or invoicing against the old 5/12/18/28% slabs, this is the update that matters.

What changed: GST 2.0

Following the 56th GST Council meeting, a rate rationalisation now referred to as GST 2.0 took effect on 22 September 2025. The 12% and 28% slabs were removed outright, with items in those brackets redistributed mainly into the 5% and 18% slabs.

The current GST slabs

• 0% (Nil) — essential goods, most unbranded food staples, and specified life-saving drugs
• 5% — daily essentials, packaged food, and items moved down from the old 12% slab
• 18% — the standard rate for most goods and services, now also covering many items shifted down from the old 28% slab
• 40% — a new, higher rate reserved for select luxury and "sin" goods such as tobacco, pan masala, and specific high-end luxury items, replacing the old 28% + cess combination

A handful of special, narrower rates continue outside this main structure — notably 0.25% and 1.5% for certain precious stones and metals, and lower composition-scheme rates for small taxpayers who opt into that scheme.

What this means for your invoices

If you sell anything that used to sit in the 12% or 28% bracket, your HSN/SAC-linked tax rate has almost certainly changed and needs updating wherever it's hardcoded — a spreadsheet formula, an old invoice template, or billing software that hasn't been patched since before September 2025.

Always confirm the current rate for your specific HSN code

GST rates are set and revised by the GST Council, and item-level classification can be more specific than the general slabs above — always check your item's current HSN/SAC rate on the official GST portal for anything compliance-critical, since rates can and do get revised again.

Calculate the tax without tracking the slabs by hand

Our GST Calculator adds or removes GST at any rate you enter, and the GST Invoice Generator handles the CGST/SGST/IGST split automatically once you pick a rate — so a slab change doesn't mean re-learning the arithmetic.