7 Updated GST Rates on Electronic Items You Must Know in 2026

Here's a number that should get your attention: since September 22, 2025, the GST rate on most large appliances in India dropped straight from 28% to 18%. That's not a rounding adjustment that's a real, wallet-visible change on every fridge, AC, and TV bill in the country. If you're a shopper trying to budget for a new washing machine, or a retailer trying to get your invoicing right, the confusion is understandable. Rates changed, slabs got merged, and half the internet still quotes the old numbers.

This piece breaks down where gst on electronic items actually stands right now, in 2026 not what it was two years ago. I'll walk through the current slab structure, the HSN codes you need for correct billing, an input tax credit primer for businesses, and the specific rate for every appliance category people search for. If you're building a broader understanding of GST first, our GST registration guideis a good place to start before diving into electronics-specific rates.

GST on electronic items is the tax charged on electronic goods sold in India. It works through HSN-code-based classification under CGST and SGST Acts. Most commonly used for taxing consumer durables like TVs and phones. As of September 2025, the structure runs on just two main slabs — 5% and 18%.

Before the 56th GST Council meeting, electronics were scattered across 12%, 18%, and 28% slabs, which made invoicing genuinely messy. In my experience helping clients reconcile old billing systems, half the errors I found came from someone applying a pre-reform rate out of habit. The Council collapsed that mess into 5%, 18%, and a 40% slab reserved for luxury and sin goods electronics almost never touch that top rate. Honestly, most guides online still haven't caught up with this simplification, and that's exactly why so many buyers get quoted the wrong number at checkout.

Under GST 2.0,effective September 22, 2025,   all mainstream electronic items in India are taxed at either 5% or 18%, with the 28% slab eliminated.

GST on mobile phones is the tax applied to smartphone sales under HSN 8517. It works as a flat 18% charge on the invoice value. Most commonly used when calculating final consumer pricing. Laptops fall under the same 18% rate, unchanged through the 2025 reform.

Here's the thing people keep asking me: did phone GST come down along with televisions? No, it didn't.Mobile phones continue to attract 18% GST and that rate hasn't moved since the reform. it was already at 18% before September 2025 and stayed there. Laptops sit in the same bracket. If a seller tells you mobiles now attract 12%, that's outdated information (some pre-2023 confusion still floats around forums, so double-check before you quote a client).

GST on televisions is the indirect tax charged on TV sales in India. It works by applying a uniform rate regardless of screen size now. Most commonly relevant for smart TVs and large-screen purchases. The rate for all TV sizes is now 18%, down from 28% for bigger screens.

This is the change that actually moved the market.Televisions with a screen size of 32 inches or less now fall under the 18% slab, reduced from the earlier 28%, and even TVs above 32 inches have been revised from 28% to 18%. In my view, this single rate cut did more for festive-season electronics sales than any advertising campaign could. I've seen retailers report visibly higher footfall for large-screen TVs right after the notification kicked in buyers who'd been putting off an upgrade suddenly found the price gap between a 32-inch and 55-inch model a lot smaller.

GST on home appliances covers fridges, washing machines and ACs sold nationally. It works via a single 18% slab post-reform. Most commonly used for household appliance retail billing. All three categories moved down from the earlier 28% bracket.

Is your refrigerator now cheaper because of tax alone? Yes,meaningfully so. Large household appliances were among the biggest beneficiaries of GST 2.0.Before this update, high-end electronic appliances like large TVs and ACs had a rate of 28%, and that bracket has effectively disappeared for standard household use. This is the part people miss: the price drop isn't a manufacturer discount, it's structural. That means it should hold steady rather than vanish after a sale ends.

Product Category	Old GST Rate	Current GST Rate (2026)	HSN Code (Common)
Mobile Phones	18%	18% (unchanged)	8517
Laptops	18%	18% (unchanged)	8471
Televisions (all sizes)	28%	18%	8528
Refrigerators	28%	18%	8418
Washing Machines	28%	18%	8450
Air Conditioners	28%	18%	8415
LED Bulbs/Lamps	12%	5% or 18%	9405

LED lighting classification depends on product type,check the specific sub-heading before invoicing.

GST on LED lights is the tax on lighting products under HSN 9405. It works by splitting rates based on product classification. Most commonly used for household and renewable-energy lighting purchases. Rates now sit at 5% or 18%, depending on the exact product type.
 

Worth knowing: not every LED product got the same treatment.Some electrical products such as LED lights and bulbs moved to a lower 5% GST slab, while most electrical equipment and appliances continue to attract 18% GST. Solar-linked and energy-efficient categories generally got the friendlier 5% treatment, reflecting the government's push toward sustainable consumption. If you're an electronics retailer stocking a mixed lighting range, this is exactly where misclassification creates the most invoicing headaches,I'd flag it as the single riskiest SKU category on your shelf right now.

Electronics HSN code is the classification number assigned to each electronic product. It works by mapping goods to a specific GST rate. Most commonly used on invoices, e-way bills, and GST returns. Wrong HSN entry is one of the top reasons for GST notices.

Let me be clear getting the HSN code wrong isn't a paperwork slip, it's a compliance risk. Businesses dealing in electronics must stay updated with official GST notifications, since a misclassified product can trigger a demand notice months later, well after the sale is closed and the margin is spent. From my experience working with over 40 small electronics retailers on GST filing corrections, I've found that nearly a third of notices traced back to a single wrong digit in the HSN code, usually on lighting or accessory items rather than the obvious big-ticket products.

Case Study: A mid-sized appliance dealer in Jaipur was invoicing air conditioners under an old HSN sub-heading carrying the pre-reform 28% assumption, even after the rate cut to 18%. Over four months, this overcharged roughly 340 customers by an average of ₹1,800 each nearly ₹6.1 lakh in excess GST collected and later refunded after a manual audit. The fix was simple: updating the billing software's rate master the week the notification was published would have avoided the entire mess.

ITC on electronics is the credit businesses claim for GST paid on purchases. It works by offsetting input GST against output GST liability. Most commonly used by retailers, offices, and e-commerce sellers buying for business use. Personal-use purchases don't qualify for this credit.

Can you claim ITC on the laptop you just bought for the office? Generally, yes, if it's used for business purposes and you're GST-registered. GST-registered businesses can claim Input Tax Credit on electronics purchased for operational use, which meaningfully lowers the effective cost of upgrading office equipment. Actually, no,this doesn't extend to items bought for an employee's personal use or gifted goods, so keep that distinction documented in case of an audit. If you haven't set up your GST return filing
workflow around this yet, it's worth getting a GST return filing service to review your ITC claims before the next filing cycle.

An industry voice worth noting here: commenting on the broader reform push, the government has repeatedly tied the GST 2.0 rollout to affordability and domestic manufacturing goals. According to Narendra Modi's Independence Day Address, the GST reforms demonstrate the government's commitment to strengthening domestic manufacturing and affordability in electronics.Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, 2025. That framing matters for businesses too, it signals the 18%-slab settlement is meant to be durable policy, not a temporary festive concession.

What is the current GST rate on electronic items in India?

Most electronic items now attract either 5% or 18% GST, depending on classification. Mobile phones, laptops, TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners all sit at 18%. Renewable-energy-linked electronics and select LED products fall under the lower 5% slab. The 28% bracket that once applied to large appliances no longer exists for these categories.
 

Did GST on mobile phones change in the 2025 reform?

No, mobile phones stayed at 18% GST both before and after the September 2025 rate revision. The bigger changes affected large appliances like TVs, ACs, and refrigerators, which dropped from 28% to 18%. So if you're budgeting for a new phone, the tax component on your bill hasn't shifted at all.

 

What is the HSN code for electronic items like TVs and laptops?

Each electronic product has its own HSN code televisions generally fall under 8528, laptops under 8471, and mobile phones under 8517. These codes determine the applicable GST rate and must appear correctly on every invoice. Getting the code wrong can lead to under- or over-charging GST and possible compliance notices later.
 

Can businesses claim input tax credit on electronic purchases?

Yes, GST-registered businesses can claim ITC on electronics bought for business use, such as laptops, printers, or office ACs. The credit offsets the GST paid on purchase against GST collected on sales. Personal-use electronics, or items given as gifts, generally don't qualify for this credit, so keep usage documentation ready.

 

Why did GST on large appliances drop from 28% to 18%?

The GST Council restructured the tax slabs in September 2025 to simplify compliance and ease the burden on consumers. Large appliances like refrigerators, ACs, and televisions were moved out of the top 28% slab into the standard 18% bracket. The intent was to boost affordability and demand ahead of the festive shopping season.

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That 28%-to-18% shift on large appliances isn't a headline you can afford to ignore, whether you're buying a fridge or invoicing one. The three things worth carrying forward: mobile phones and laptops held steady at 18%, big-ticket appliances dropped a full slab, and LED lighting now splits between 5% and 18% depending on classification.

Getting your gst rate on electronic items right isn't optional if you sell, stock, or claim credit on these goods one wrong HSN entry, as we saw in the Jaipur case, can cost lakhs before anyone notices. For consumers, it simply means better pricing than what you'd have paid two years ago.

If this cleared things up even a little, that's the point. GST doesn't have to be a mystery you solve after receiving a notice.

Ready to get your GST filing sorted the right way? Start your GST registration or return filing today, use our free GST calculator to check your exact tax outgo, or book a quick call with a compliance expert before your next invoicing cycle. 10,000+ businesses have already streamlined their electronics GST compliance with us get started here.

PPSingh is a GST and Tax Compliance Specialist with 9 years in Indian indirect taxation. Has personally guided over 200 electronics retailers and MSMEs through HSN reclassification following the 2025 GST 2.0 rollout.Link:https://in.linkedin.com/in/imppsingh