GST Rates: What You Need to Know About India’s Tax Structure

When you buy anything in India—from a cup of coffee to a new laptop—you’re paying GST, a value-added tax applied at every stage of the supply chain, replacing multiple older taxes like VAT, excise, and service tax. Also known as Goods and Services Tax, it’s the backbone of India’s modern tax system and affects every business, big or small. The rates aren’t random. They’re split into four main slabs: 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%, with a few essential items like rice and milk taxed at just 0%. There’s also a special 3% rate for gold and 0.25% for rough precious stones. If you run a business, knowing which slab applies to your product isn’t just paperwork—it’s how you avoid overpaying or getting penalized.

But GST isn’t just about what you charge customers. It’s also about what you can get back. The input tax credit, the ability to claim back the GST you paid on business purchases like raw materials, equipment, or services is where most businesses save money. If you buy packaging for ₹10,000 with 18% GST, you can deduct that ₹1,800 from the GST you collect from customers. But here’s the catch: you can’t claim it unless your supplier filed their return, your invoice has the correct GSTIN, and you’ve matched the details in your GSTR-2B. One mismatch, and your refund gets stuck. That’s why so many small businesses lose out—they think claiming GST is simple, but the rules are strict.

The GST return filing, the mandatory process of reporting sales, purchases, and tax paid to the government happens monthly or quarterly, depending on your business size. Filing GSTR-1 for sales and GSTR-3B for summary tax is non-negotiable. Miss a deadline, and you’ll pay late fees. File wrong, and you risk audits or blocked credits. And if you’ve overpaid? You can apply for a GST refund, a reimbursement of excess tax paid, often due to exports, inverted tax structures, or errors. But refunds don’t come fast. They require verification, and many get delayed because of mismatched data or incomplete documentation.

What you’ll find in the posts below aren’t theory lessons. They’re real, practical guides from people who’ve dealt with GST headaches—how to file returns without errors, what you can and can’t claim, why your refund is stuck, and how to avoid penalties that could cost you thousands. Whether you’re a shop owner, a freelancer, or run a startup, this isn’t about memorizing rules. It’s about getting it right the first time, so you keep more of your money and stay off the tax department’s radar.