From AC, TV to shampoo and hair oil: What gets cheaper, costlier from September 22 as GST rates revised

The new structure will come into effect from September 22, providing relief to common man, middle class, farmers and health-related sectors. The GST Council has also approved a special de-merit rate of 40 per cent for a select few goods and services, including pan masala, cigarette, an aircraft for personal use.

The items that will see the biggest tax cut include food, medicines, farm goods, small cars and bikes

Siddhi Gaharwar | Updated on: Sep 04, 2025 | 08:31 AM

New Delhi: The Good and Services Tax (GST) Council on Wednesday cleared a two-tier rate structure of 5 and 18 per cent, doing away with the current tax slabs of 12 and 28 per cent. The GST Council has also approved a special de-merit rate of 40 per cent for a select few goods and services, including pan masala, cigarette, an aircraft for personal use. The new GST rates will be applicable from September 22, providing relief to common man, middle class, farmers and health-related sectors.

Announcing the new tax structure, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, "These reforms have been carried out with a focus on the common man. Every tax on the common man's daily use items has gone through a rigorous review and in most cases the rates have come down drastically."

The items that will see the biggest tax cut include food, medicines, essential products, farm goods, small cars and bikes.

Here's what get cheaper and costlier

Items/services under 0% GST rate

Individual life insurance, health policies
33 life-saving drugs and medicines, medicines used for treatment of cancer, rare diseases and other severe chronic diseases.
Maps, charts, globes, pencils, sharpeners, crayons, pastels, exercise books, notebooks, erasers
Ultra-High Temperature (UHT) milk, paneer, pre-packaged and labelled, pizza bread, Khakhra, chapathi or roti

Items/services under 5% GST rate

Hair oil, toilet soap bars, shampoos, toothbrushes, toothpaste, bicycles, tableware, kitchenware, other household articles
Butter, ghee, condensed milk, cheese, dairy spreads
Sauces, pasta, instant noodles, cornflakes, biscuits, coffee, chocolates, cocoa products, namkeens, bhujia, mixture, chabena
Almonds, pistachios, dates, fig, hazelnuts, cashews, refined sugar, sugar syrups, toffees and candy
Vegetable oils, preserved Meat, animal fats, edible spreads, sausages, fish products
Diabetic foods, drinking water packed in 20 litre bottles
Medical apparatus and devices used for medical, surgical, dental or veterinary usage or for physical or chemical analysis
Medical equipment and supplies devices such as wadding gauze, bandages, diagnostic kits and reagents, blood glucose monitoring system (Glucometer) medical devices, etc
Thermometer, medical grade oxygen, test strip
Feeding bottles, napkins for babies and clinical diapers
Fertilisers, specified bio-pesticides, micro-Nutrients, drip irrigation system and sprinklers
Tractors, agricultural, horticultural or forestry machinery for soil preparation or cultivation, harvesting or threshing machinery, including straw or fodder balers, grass or hay mowers, composting machines
Beauty and physical well-being services used by common man including services of gyms, salons, barbers, yoga centres, etc

Items/services under 18% GST rate

Air-conditioner, TV-32 inch (including LCD and LED television), dishwashing machines
Small cars, motorcycles equal to or less than 350 CC, motor vehicles for the transport of goods, 3 wheeled vehicles
Buses, trucks, ambulances
Petrol & petrol hybrid, LPG, CNG cars (not exceeding 1200 cc & 4000 mm)
Diesel & diesel hybrid cars (not exceeding 1500 cc & 4000 mm)
Monitors, projectors
Road tractors of engine capacity more than 1800 cc
Cement, coal
Bidis
Cotton quilts of sale value exceeding Rs 2500 per piece

Items/services under 40% GST rate

Pan masala, tobacco, cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes
Aerated waters, containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured, other non-alcoholic beverages
Carbonated beverages of fruit drink or carbonated beverages with fruit juice, caffeinated beverages
Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, including station wagons and racing cars
Motor vehicles with both spark-ignition internal combustion reciprocating piston engine and electric motor as motors for propulsion, of engine capacity exceeding 1200cc or of length exceeding 4000 mm
Motor vehicles with both compression-ignition internal combustion piston engine [diesel-or semi diesel] and electric motor as motors for propulsion, of engine capacity exceeding 1500cc or of length exceeding 4000 mm
Motor cycles of engine capacity exceeding 350 cc
Aircraft for personal use
Yacht and other vessels for pleasure or sports
Revolvers and pistols
Smoking pipes and cigar or cigarette holders