New GST rates 2025: Milk, butter, paneer and other – List of essential items with revised GST percentage

To ease the burden on everyday consumers and simplify compliance, India has revamped its GST structure and reworked tax slabs, which are effective from 22 September 2025, after recommendations of the GST council. The new framework largely consolidates items into three slabs (0%, 5% and 18%), keeping s special 40% rate for limited luxury and 'son' goods.

In the new GST reform, a plethora of household items, cars, TVs, and bikes have become cheaper for the common man and middle class. Several food items have been moved to 0% tax bracket, which include essential items like roti, parantha, paneer, khakra, etc. Importantly, health and life insurance premiums have also been exempted from GST.

Full list of essential items in 0% or NIL GST rate

• Chena or paneer, pre-packaged and labelled & Ultra-High Temperature (UHT) milk
• Pizza bread, Khakhra, chapathi or roti, Paratha, parotta and other Indian breads by any name called
• Erasers, Uncoated paper and paperboard used for exercise books, graph books, laboratory notebooks and notebooks, Maps and hydrographic or similar charts of all kinds, including atlases, wall maps, topographical plans and globes, printed, and Pencil sharpeners.

Items in 5% GST rate

• Condensed milk, Butter and other fats (i.e. ghee, butter oil, etc.), oils derived from milk; dairy spreads and Cheese
• Brazil nuts, dried, Other nuts, dried, whether or not shelled or peeled, such as Almonds, Hazelnuts or filberts (Corylus spp.), Chestnuts (Castanea spp.), Pistachios, Macadamia nuts, Kola nuts (Cola spp.), and Pine nuts
• Dates (soft or hard), figs, pineapples, avocados, guavas, mangoes (other than mangoes sliced, dried) and mangosteens, dried
• Citrus fruit, such as Oranges, Mandarins (including tangerines and satsumas), clementines, wilkings and similar citrus hybrids, Grapefruit, including pomelos, Lemons (Citrus limon, Citrus limonum) and limes (Citrus aurantifolia, Citrus latifolia), dried
• Fruit, dried, other than that of headings 0801 to 0806; mixtures of nuts or dried fruits of Chapter 8 (other than dried tamarind)
• Malt, whether or not roasted
• Indian katha and Rubber bands
• Talcum powder, Face powder, Hair oil, shampoo, Shaving cream, shaving lotion, and aftershave lotion
• Dental floss, toothpaste, Tooth powder
• Toilet Soap (other than industrial soap) in the form of bars, cakes, moulded pieces or shapes
• Candles, tapers and the like, Handcrafted candles
• Refined sugar containing added flavouring or colouring matter, sugar cubes
• Corn flakes, bulgar wheat, prepared foods obtained from cereal flakes, Fortified Rice Kernel (FRK)
• Tender coconut water, pre-packaged and labelled
• Fruit or nut juices (including grape must) and vegetable juices, unfermented and not containing added spirit, with or without added sugar or other sweetening matter
• Ice cream and other edible ice, whether or not containing cocoa
• Namkeens, bhujia, mixture, chabena and similar edible preparations ready for consumption form (other than roasted gram), pre-packaged and labelled
• Waters, including natural or artificial mineral waters and aerated waters, not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter, nor flavoured
• Plant-based milk drinks, ready for direct consumption as beverages
• Soya milk drinks, Fruit pulp or fruit juice-based drinks (other than Carbonated Beverages of Fruit Drink or Carbonated Beverages with Fruit Juice), and Beverages containing milk
• Cartons, boxes and cases of- Corrugated paper or paper boards; or Non-corrugated paper or paper board
• Rubber thread and cord, textile-covered; textile yarn, and strip and the like of heading 5404 or 5405, coated, impregnated, covered or sheathed with rubber or plastics
• Mathematical boxes, geometry boxes and colour boxes

Items in 18% GST rate

• Bidis
• Coal; briquettes, ovoids and similar solid fuels manufactured from coal
• Air-conditioning machines, containing a motor-driven fan and elements for changing the temperature and humidity, along with those machines in which the humidity cannot be separately regulated
• Dish washing machines, household [8422 11 00] and other [8422 19 00]