GST Tariff By Taxmann’s Editorial Board

GST Tariff is a two-volume ready-reckoner that answers a single practical question for any supply in India—what is the rate of tax—and answers it in one lookup. For goods, it reproduces the entire rate schedule arranged by HSN, so a reader moves from the broad product family down to the precise eight-digit Tariff Item and reads the CGST, SGST/UTGST and IGST rates off one row. For services, it maps the notified rates against each Service Heading and carries the full Scheme of Classification down to the six-digit Service Code, with Explanatory Notes describing exactly what each code covers.

What distinguishes the work is that it is built to be used at the point of decision rather than as a bare rate list. Every chapter and service heading is supplemented in place with the relevant exemption notifications, ‘pre-packaged and labelled’ flags, E-Way Bill exemption indicators, Latest Clarifications and Latest Case Laws, and the Section, Chapter and Supplementary Notes that govern classification—so the rate, the exemption that may apply, and the interpretation that decides borderline cases all sit together. Where goods attract a levy beyond GST, the entry cross-refers to the allied-Act rates compiled in the same set, and the complete body of rate-and-exemption notifications is reproduced in full with its conditions.

Two exhaustive indices—a Commodity Index and a Services Index—let a reader reach the right entry by name. Volume 1 holds the goods tariff, the allied-Act duties and the commodity index; Volume 2 holds the services tariff, the explanatory notes, the services index and the consolidated notifications. The present Edition states the law as currently in force, with the rate schedules and notifications updated to reflect the latest position.

This publication is specifically intended for users who must apply GST tariffs accurately in live transactions and compliance environments, including:

• Chartered Accountants, Cost Accountants, Company Secretaries and Tax Advisors framing rate and classification opinions
• GST Litigators and Practitioners handling classification disputes, advance rulings and departmental adjudication
• Manufacturers, Traders, Importers and E-Commerce Operators determining output rates, HSN/SAC, reverse-charge liability and invoicing
• Manufacturers of Capacity-Based-Levy Goods computing duty under the new cess machinery
• Indirect-Tax, Finance and Supply-Chain Teams responsible for compliance, pricing and ERP master-data setup
• Departmental Officers, Tribunals and the Bench needing a single consolidated rate reference
• Institutions and Students of GST, customs and indirect-tax law

The Present Publication is the 26^th Edition, amended by the Finance Act 2026 and updated till 20^th May 2026. This book is edited by Taxmann’s Editorial Board, with the following noteworthy features:

• [Single-glance Rate Determination] Every tariff line shows the Unit alongside the CGST, SGST/UTGST and IGST rates in adjacent columns, so the rate for both intra-State and inter-State supply is read off one row
• [Aligned to GST 2.0] Reconciled to the rate rationalisation, with rate entries tied back to the September 2025 rate-and-exemption notifications
• [Pre-packaged and Labelled Flagging] ‘Pre-packaged and labelled’ treatment is marked at the tariff-line level, separating the rate on packaged-and-labelled commodities from the same goods supplied loose, with the governing Legal Metrology definition and FAQs reproduced
• [Allied-Act Cross-references] Goods chapters that attract levies beyond GST carry an express cross-reference to the allied-Act rates in Division Two, so the GST rate and any residual excise or cess are not read in isolation
• [Rate, Exemption and Interpretation Together] Each chapter and service heading is supplemented in place with the applicable exemption notifications, E-Way Bill exemption flags, Latest Clarifications and Latest Case Laws/Departmental Clarifications
• [Two-way Services Mapping] Notified rates are given against each Service Heading, and the full Scheme of Classification is carried down to the six-digit Service Code, with Explanatory Notes describing the scope of each code and relevant CBIC circulars folded in
• [Full Statutory Apparatus] Reproduced, not merely cited: Section Notes, Chapter Notes, Supplementary Notes, the General Rules for the Interpretation of the Schedule, and full notification texts with their conditions
• [Name-based Search] Exhaustive Commodity Index and Services Index, plus a complete List of Notifications

The detailed coverage of the book is as follows:

• Goods Rate Schedule
  • The complete GST rate schedule for goods, organised by HSN across the full range of Customs Tariff Chapters, from live animals through to works of art, antiques and project imports
• Rate Slabs
  • The principal slabs of Nil, 5% and 18%, a 40% rate on specified demerit goods such as tobacco and cigarettes, and the special rates of 0.25%, 1.5% and 3% retained for rough and worked diamonds, gemstones and bullion
• Allied-Act Duties
  • The duties that continue to apply alongside GST, reproduced with their statutory text: the Central Excise Third and Fourth Schedules, National Calamity Contingent Duty, Additional Duty on Tobacco, Special Additional Excise Duty on motor spirit and high-speed diesel, Road & Infrastructure Cess, Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess, and Rule 18 of the Central Excise Rules 2017
• Health Security se National Security Cess
  • The Act of 2025 and Rules of 2026, including the capacity-based machinery under which the cess is fixed by machine speed and pouch weight in rupees per machine per month, with returns, abatement, appeals and the prescribed forms—together with its FAQs
• Packing-machine Rules
  • The Chewing Tobacco, Jarda Scented Tobacco and Gutkha Packing Machines (Capacity Determination and Collection of Duty) Rules 2026
• Services Rate Schedule
  • The complete GST rate schedule for services—CGST/SGST and IGST—against every Service Heading, with the residual standard rate and the classification of services
• Classification of Services
  • The full Scheme of Classification of Services and its Explanatory Notes, describing what each Service Code covers
• Reverse Charge and Special Supplies
  • Reverse charge for intra-State and inter-State supplies of services, supplies through electronic commerce operators, supplies received from unregistered suppliers, restrictions on refund of unutilised input tax credit, and notified rates on specified first intra-State supplies
• Consolidated Notifications
  • The full body of Rate of Tax and Exemption Notifications for goods and for services, reproduced with their amendment history and conditions, and a complete List of Notifications running to the latest 2026 instruments

The work runs across two volumes and six divisions:

• Volume 1
  • Division One — GST Tariff for Goods with HSN Code, closing with the General Rules for the Interpretation of the Schedule
  • Division Two — Rates specified in other Acts, including the Health Security se National Security Cess Act, 2025, its Rules, 2026, and the related packing-machine rules
  • Division Three — Commodity Index
• Volume 2
  • Division Four — GST Tariff for Services (CGST/SGST and IGST), the classification and Explanatory Notes, reverse-charge and ECO provisions, ITC-refund restrictions, Latest Clarifications and Latest Case Laws
  • Division Five — Services Index
  • Division Six — GST Tariff Notifications (Rate of Tax and Exemptions), with the List of Notifications
• Within the goods tariff, entries follow the Customs Tariff architecture—Section, Chapter, Heading, sub-heading and eight-digit Tariff Item—so a reader moves from the broad product family to the precise line. The services tariff mirrors this, moving from Section and Heading to the six-digit Service Code, with each heading first stating the notified concessional and exempt entries and then the residual classification taxed at the standard rate