Add GST to a price or take it out of an inclusive one, with the CGST, SGST, and IGST split. Uses the rates in force on your supply date, including the September 2025 change.
What changed on 22 September 2025?
The 56th GST Council replaced the four-tier structure with two main rates, a standard 18% and a merit 5%, plus a special de-merit rate of 40% for a short list of goods and services. Most 12% items moved to 5% and most 28% items moved to 18%. Cigarettes, zarda, unmanufactured tobacco, and beedi stay on the old rates until a later date is notified.
Which rate applies if my invoice straddles the change?
Section 14 of the CGST Act decides. It looks at when the goods or services were supplied, when the invoice was issued, and when payment was received, and picks the rate from two of those three. Enter the date of supply above and check section 14 if the invoice and the payment fall on the other side of it.
How do I remove GST from a price?
Divide by one plus the rate, not by the rate. At 18%, divide the inclusive price by 1.18. Subtracting 18% of the inclusive price is the classic mistake and it always understates the taxable value.
When is it IGST instead of CGST and SGST?
When the place of supply is in a different state from the supplier. Then one levy, IGST, applies at the full rate. Inside a state the same total is split down the middle between the Centre and the state.
Which rate applies to my product?
That depends on its HSN code for goods or SAC code for services, not on what the product is called. Look the code up in the CBIC schedule linked below. Guessing a rate from a product name is how notices start.
Why are there 0.25% and 3% rates?
They are special schedules. 0.25% covers rough diamonds and similar stones. 3% covers gold, silver, and jewellery. Both apply only to the goods listed in those schedules.
Does this include compensation cess?
No. Some goods, such as tobacco, aerated drinks, and larger cars, carry a compensation cess on top of GST. Add it separately when it applies.
Is a nil rate the same as exempt?
No. Nil-rated, exempt, zero-rated, and outside GST are four different legal states, even though the tax is zero in all of them. They differ in what input tax credit you can claim, so pick the right one on the invoice.