Under 5% GST – Complete List of Items (2025 Update)
👉 Effective Date: 22 September 2025
👉 Source: GST Council 56th Meeting (Rate Rationalisation)
👉 New Slabs: 5% (Merit), 18% (Standard), 40% (Demerit – for sin/tobacco items)
📝 Introduction
GST (Goods & Services Tax) reform in 2025 ne ek bada change introduce kiya hai. Pehle India me GST ke 4 slabs the: 5%, 12%, 18%, aur 28%. Ab ise simplify karke sirf 3 slabs banaye gaye:
- ✅ 5% (Merit rate) → Rozmarra ki zaroorat ki cheezein, food, medicines, personal care
- ✅ 18% (Standard rate) → Baki saare aam goods & services
- ✅ 40% (Demerit rate) → Sin goods jaise tobacco, pan masala, gutkha, luxury harmful items
Is reform ka main maksad hai common man ki cheezein sasti karna aur GST ko simple banana.
🍲 Food & Daily Use Items (Now at 5%)
- 🍜 Instant noodles, pasta, sauces
- ☕ Coffee (roast & ground)
- 🍫 Chocolates & cocoa products
- 🥫 Packaged namkeens, bhujia, mixtures
- 🥛 Butter, ghee, cheese, dairy spreads
- 🐓 Preserved meat & fish
- 🌽 Cornflakes & packaged cereals
- 🍞 Pizza bread, packaged bakery items
⚖️ Comparison Table – Food Items
| Item | Old GST | New GST |
|---|---|---|
| Instant Noodles | 18% | 5% |
| Butter & Ghee | 12% | 5% |
| Chocolates | 18% | 5% |
| Cornflakes | 12% | 5% |
🧼 Personal Care & Hygiene
- 🧴 Hair oil
- 🧼 Toilet soap (bar soaps)
- 🦷 Toothpaste, toothpowder, toothbrush
- 🧖 Shampoo & conditioners
- 🕯️ Candles & safety matches
- 🍼 Feeding bottles, nipples
⚖️ Comparison Table – Personal Care
| Item | Old GST | New GST |
|---|---|---|
| Hair Oil | 18% | 5% |
| Soap Bar | 18% | 5% |
| Toothpaste | 18% | 5% |
| Shampoo | 18% | 5% |
🏠 Household & Kitchen Items
- 🚲 Bicycles
- 🍽️ Tableware & kitchenware (plastic, steel, metal)
- 🍼 Feeding bottles, baby napkins, diapers
- ✂️ Sewing machines & parts
- 👜 Cotton & jute shopping bags
- 🎁 Handicraft handbags, purses, jewellery boxes
⚖️ Comparison Table – Household
| Item | Old GST | New GST |
|---|---|---|
| Bicycles | 12% | 5% |
| Kitchenware | 12% | 5% |
| Cotton/Jute Bags | 12% | 5% |
| Handicraft Purses | 12% | 5% |
💊 Healthcare & Medicines
- 💊 All other medicines (except lifesaving → Nil)
- 🩺 Medical devices & apparatus
- 🧪 Diagnostic kits, reagents
- 🩹 Bandages, gauze, dressings
- 📏 Glucometers & test strips
👉 Special Relief:
- 33 lifesaving drugs (12% → 0%)
- 3 rare disease/cancer medicines (5% → 0%)
⚖️ Comparison Table – Healthcare
| Item | Old GST | New GST |
|---|---|---|
| General Medicines | 12% | 5% |
| Medical Devices | 18% | 5% |
| Diagnostic Kits | 18% | 5% |
| Life-saving Drugs | 12% / 5% | Nil |
🚜 Agriculture & Fertilizer Sector
- 🚜 Tractors (select categories)
- 🌾 Soil preparation & harvesting machinery
- 💧 Drip irrigation systems & sprinklers
- 🧪 Fertilizer raw materials (Sulphuric acid, Nitric acid, Ammonia)
⚖️ Comparison Table – Agriculture
| Item | Old GST | New GST |
|---|---|---|
| Tractors | 12% | 5% |
| Farm Machinery | 18% | 5% |
| Irrigation Systems | 12% | 5% |
| Fertilizer Chemicals | 12%/18% | 5% |
👕 Textile & Renewable Energy
- 🧵 Man-made fibres (18% → 5%)
- 🧶 Man-made yarn (12% → 5%)
- ☀️ Solar panels & renewable energy devices (12% → 5%)
⚖️ Comparison Table – Textile & Renewable
| Item | Old GST | New GST |
|---|---|---|
| Man-made Fibre | 18% | 5% |
| Man-made Yarn | 12% | 5% |
| Solar Devices | 12% | 5% |
🎨 Handicraft & Labour-intensive Goods
- 🎒 Handicraft handbags, purses, jewellery boxes
- 🗿 Marble, granite, travertine blocks
- 👞 Leather goods (sheep/goat/cow leather)
- 🪵 Wooden handicrafts, frames, carved wood articles
⚖️ Comparison Table – Handicraft
| Item | Old GST | New GST |
|---|---|---|
| Handicraft Bags | 12% | 5% |
| Marble Blocks | 12% | 5% |
| Leather Goods | 12% | 5% |
| Wooden Handicrafts | 12% | 5% |
🛎️ Services (Reduced to 5%)
- 💆 Beauty & wellness services (salon, spa, barber, gyms, yoga centres)
- 🏨 Hotel accommodation (room rent ≤ ₹7,500 per night)
⚖️ Comparison Table – Services
| Service | Old GST | New GST |
|---|---|---|
| Salon/Gym/Wellness | 18% | 5% |
| Hotel Accommodation ≤ ₹7,500 | 12% | 5% |
❌ Nil GST Items (0%)
- 🥛 UHT milk
- 🧀 Paneer (packaged & labelled)
- 🍞 Indian breads (roti, chapati, paratha, parotta)
- 💊 33 lifesaving medicines (12% → Nil)
- 💊 3 rare/cancer drugs (5% → Nil)
⚠️ Exceptions
- 🚬 Pan masala, gutkha, bidi, cigarettes → abhi bhi existing higher rates + compensation cess me hain
- ⏳ Old stock MRPs update karna retailers ke liye challenge hoga
- 💰 Businesses ko billing & ITC rules update karne padhenge
🙋 FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Q1. New GST me kitne slabs hai?
👉 Ab sirf 3 slabs: 5%, 18% aur 40% (demerit items ke liye).
Q2. 5% slab me kaunse food items aaye?
👉 Instant noodles, sauces, chocolates, namkeen, butter, ghee, cornflakes, packaged cereals etc.
Q3. Medicines ka kya hua?
👉 General medicines 12% se 5% par aa gaye. 33 lifesaving drugs 0% (Nil) ho gaye.
Q4. Bags par kitna GST hai?
👉 Handicraft handbags, cotton/jute shopping bags – ab 5% GST. Luxury/fashion branded bags par alag rate ho sakta hai.
Q5. Hotel stay par ab kitna GST hai?
👉 Agar room rent ₹7,500 per night se kam hai toh 5% GST. Upar hone par standard 18%.
Q6. Personal care items par kya change hai?
👉 Hair oil, shampoo, toothpaste, soap sab 18% se gharke 5% ho gaye.
Q7. Tobacco products par kya hua?
👉 In par abhi koi relief nahi. Yeh abhi bhi higher tax + compensation cess me hain.
Q8. Effective date kya hai?
👉 Naye GST rates 22 September 2025 se lagu hain.
Q9. Textile aur yarn par kya benefit hua?
👉 Man-made fibres & yarn ab 5% par hain (pehle 12-18%).
Q10. Kya sab items 5% par aa gaye?
👉 Nahi, sirf common man ki cheezein aur essential goods/services ko 5% slab me laya gaya hai.
✅ Conclusion
2025 ka GST reform ek historic simplification hai. Ab aam aadmi ki zaroori cheezein – khaane‑peene ka saman, dant‑manjan, davai, kisan ki kheti ke saman, kapda, solar panel – sab 5% slab me aa gaye. Isse price kam honge, demand badegi, aur economy me transparency aayegi. Businesses ko short term me MRP aur billing adjust karna hoga, lekin long term me GST aur simple aur fair ban jayega.
📌 Final Note: Yeh blog consumer aur business dono ke liye ek guide hai. Post ko share karein taaki sab log naye GST reforms samajh saken.