How the 22 September 2025 GST reform changed an item’s price — old and new slabs side by side.
Old price · GST 28%
₹1,280.00
incl. tax ₹280.00
New price · GST 18%
₹1,180.00
incl. tax ₹180.00
India’s Goods and Services Tax was simplified from a four-slab structure (5%, 12%, 18%, 28%) into a leaner one: 0%, 5%, 18%, and a new 40% rate for sin and luxury goods. The awkward middle slabs of 12% and 28% were removed, with most items reclassified downward — 12% goods largely moving to 5%, and 28% goods to 18%. For everyday shopping the practical question is simple: for a given item, did its slab fall (cheaper) or rise into the 40% bracket (costlier)? This tool answers exactly that, one item at a time.
The one bit of arithmetic people get wrong is comparing an old price to a new rate directly. GST is charged on the base(pre-tax) price, so to compare fairly you must first remove the old tax to recover that base, then apply the new rate. If you know only the old MRP, switch the calculator to “old MRP” mode and it strips the old GST out for you before re-taxing at the new slab — otherwise the comparison is apples to oranges.
Notice the saving scales with the price: 7.8% is nothing on a ₹200 purchase but real money on a ₹40,000 television. That is why the reform’s impact is felt most on big-ticket goods.
The figure here isolates the GST component only. Whether a shop actually passes the full cut through to you depends on its pricing and margin — a lower slab reduces the tax, not necessarily the sticker price. The correct slab for any specific item also depends on its official classification, which is occasionally disputed. For routine billing where you simply need to add, remove, or reverse-extract GST at the current rates, the GST calculator handles all three flows with the CGST/SGST/IGST split; this page is the one to use when you want to see how the reform itself moved a price.
Effective 22 September 2025, India moved to a simplified GST structure with two main slabs of 5% and 18%, a 40% rate for sin and luxury goods, and nil-rated essentials. The earlier 12% and 28% slabs were removed, with most items shifting down to 5% or 18%.
Take the base (pre-tax) price and apply the new slab. If you only know the old MRP, this calculator first removes the old GST to find the base, then applies the new rate so you can compare like-for-like.
Most goods that moved from 12% to 5% or from 28% to 18% became cheaper. A few items moved into the 40% sin/luxury slab and became more expensive. The direction depends on the specific item’s reclassification.
The 12% and 28% slabs were abolished. The structure is now 0% (nil-rated essentials), 5% (merit goods), 18% (standard), and a 40% rate for sin and luxury items such as tobacco, aerated drinks, and high-end cars.
Because GST applies to the base (pre-tax) price, not the shelf price. To compare fairly you first strip the old GST out of the MRP to recover the base, then apply the new rate. Subtracting “28% minus 18%” from the final price gives the wrong answer.
Not automatically. A lower slab reduces the tax on the base price, but sellers set the final price and may absorb part of the change through margin. The calculator shows the tax-driven change; your actual saving depends on the retailer’s pricing.
The saving is proportional to both the rate cut and the price. Moving an item from 12% to 5% saves about 6.25% of the old price; moving from 28% to 18% saves about 7.8%. On small purchases the rupee amount is modest, but on big-ticket goods it adds up quickly.
Last reviewed: June 28, 2026
This calculator provides planning estimates based on the assumptions shown on this page.
Estimate for comparison only. Final invoice prices depend on item classification and seller pricing.