GST 2.0: Check the full list of goods now tax-free

PM Narendra Modi said that the new GST rates, combined with earlier income tax reforms, will help Indians save about ₹2.5 lakh crore.

Updated on: Sep 22, 2025, 13:53:46 IST

By HT News Desk

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As new Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates take effect from Monday, several essential goods and services will attract zero tax under the revised framework.

Zero tax on several food items, medicines, and stationery as new GST reforms take effect. (Representative image/ Unsplash)

Taxes on a range of food items, essential medicines, and stationery have been reduced to zero, providing direct relief to consumers and households.

The GST Council on September 3 approved a sweeping revision of the indirect tax structure, cutting rates across a wide range of goods.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address to the nation on Sunday evening, said that the combined impact of the new GST rates and the earlier income tax reforms will help Indians save around ₹2.5 lakh crore.

Here is the list of items that come under zero tax:

Food: Ultra-High Temperature (UHT) milk, pizza bread, prepackaged and labelled chena or paneer, khakhra, chapati, roti, paratha, and parotta.
Insurance: All individual health and life insurance policies, including reinsurance.
Life-saving drugs and medicines: 33 lifesaving drugs and medicines, including three used to treat cancer, rare diseases, and other serious chronic conditions.
Stationery items for school and office use: Erasers, uncoated paper, and paperboard used for exercise books, notebooks, graph books, and laboratory books. Maps and hydrographic or similar charts of all kinds. Atlases, globes, and topographical plans. Pencil sharpeners, pencils, including propelling or sliding pencils. Crayons and pastels. Writing or drawing chalk, tailor's chalk, and chalk sticks.

The new GST regime adopts a two-tier structure, with most goods and services taxed at 5 per cent and 18 per cent, while ultra-luxury items face a 40 per cent levy. Tobacco and related products remain in the 28 per cent slab with an additional cess.

Previously, GST was applied in four slabs, including 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent, and 28 per cent, with a compensation cess on luxury and demerit (sin) goods.

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HT News Desk
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