Goods Retained at 28% GST by the GST Council in November 2017
At its meeting on 10 November 2017, the GST Council recommended retaining the 28% Goods and Services Tax rate for specified goods. The original list of 50 entries, including their tariff headings and descriptions, is reproduced below for historical and legal reference.
Legal status of a GST Council recommendation
Under Article 279A of the Constitution, the GST Council makes recommendations on GST matters, including rates. A Council recommendation does not by itself amend a taxpayer's rate: the applicable rate follows the relevant statutory notification, subject to its effective date, conditions and amendments. Therefore the list below records the position recommended on 10 November 2017, rather than asserting that each item still bears 28% GST.
Relevant GST provisions explained
Section 9(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 provides for levy and collection of CGST on intra-State supplies of goods or services, at rates notified on the recommendations of the Council, subject to statutory limits and exclusions. Corresponding State GST or Union Territory GST generally applies to intra-State supplies.
Section 5(1) of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 governs the levy of IGST on inter-State supplies, at notified rates. Section 15 of the CGST Act governs valuation of taxable supplies, subject to its rules and exceptions. The applicable tariff heading or HSN description must be read with the current rate notification and its explanatory provisions.
List of 50 goods retained at 28% GST in the 10 November 2017 recommendation
The following descriptions and HSN headings are retained from the original historical article. These entries should not be used as a substitute for the currently operative rate schedules.
| S. No. | HSN / tariff heading | Description of goods (2017 list) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1703 | Molasses |
| 2 | 2106 90 20 | Pan masala |
| 3 | 2202 10 | All goods [including aerated waters], containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured |
| 4 | 2401 | Un manufactured tobacco; tobacco refuse [other than tobacco leaves] |
| 5 | 2402 | Cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes, of tobacco or of tobacco substitutes |
| 6 | 2403 | Other manufactured tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes; "homogenised" or "reconstituted" tobacco; tobacco extracts and essences [including biris] |
| 7 | 2523 | Portland cement, aluminous cement, slag cement, super sulphate cement and similar hydraulic cements, whether or not coloured or in the form of clinkers |
| 8 | 3208 | Paints and varnishes (including enamels and lacquers) based on synthetic polymers or chemically modified natural polymers, dispersed or dissolved in a non-aqueous medium; solutions as defined in Note 4 to this Chapter |
| 9 | 3209 | Paints and varnishes (including enamels and lacquers) based on synthetic polymers or chemically modified natural polymers, dispersed or dissolved in an aqueous medium |
| 10 | 3210 | Other paints and varnishes (including enamels, lacquers and distempers); prepared water pigments of a kind used for finishing leather |
| 11 | 3214 | Glaziers' putty, grafting putty, resin cements, caulking compounds and other mastics; painters' fillings; non- refractory surfacing preparations for facades, indoor walls, floors, ceilings or the like |
| 12 | 4011 | New pneumatic tyres, of rubber [other than of a kind used on/in bicycles, cycle-rickshaws and three wheeled powered cycle rickshaws; and Rear Tractor tyres; and of a kind used on aircraft] |
| 13 | 4012 | Retreaded or used tyres and flaps |
| 14 | 8407 | Spark-ignition reciprocating or rotary internal combustion piston engine [other than aircraft engines] |
| 15 | 8408 | Compression-ignition internal combustion piston engines (diesel or semi-diesel engines) |
| 16 | 8409 | Parts suitable for use solely or principally with the engines of heading 8407 or 8408 |
| 17 | 8413 | Pumps for dispensing fuel or lubricants of the type used in filling stations or garages [8413 11], Fuel, lubricating or cooling medium pumps for internal combustion piston engines [8413 30] |
| 18 | 8415 | Air-conditioning machines, comprising a motor-driven fan and elements for changing the temperature and humidity, including those machines in which the humidity cannot be separately regulated |
| 19 | 8418 | Refrigerators, freezers and other refrigerating or freezing equipment, electric or other; heat pumps other than air conditioning machines of heading 8415 |
| 20 | 8422 | Dish washing machines, household [8422 11 00] and other [8422 19 00] |
| 21 | 8450 | Household or laundry-type washing machines, including machines which both wash and dry |
| 22 | 8483 | Transmission shafts (including cam shafts and crank shafts) and cranks (excluding crankshaft for sewing machine); gear boxes and other speed changers, including torque converters; flywheels and pulleys, including pulley blocks; clutches and shaft couplings (including universal joints) |
| 23 | 8507 | Electric accumulators, including separators therefor, whether or not rectangular (including square) |
| 24 | 8508 | Vacuum cleaners |
| 25 | 8509 | Electro-mechanical domestic appliances, with self-contained electric motor, other than vacuum cleaners of heading 8508 [other than wet grinder consisting of stone as a grinder ] |
| 26 | 8510 | Shavers, hair clippers and hair-removing appliances, with self contained electric motor |
| 27 | 8511 | Electrical ignition or starting equipment of a kind used for spark ignition or compression-ignition internal combustion engines (for example, ignition magnetos, magneto-dynamos, ignition coils, sparking plugs and glow plugs, starter motors); generators (for example, dynamos, alternators) and cut-outs of a kind used in conjunction with such engines |
| 28 | 8516 | Electric instantaneous or storage water heaters and immersion heaters; electric space heating apparatus and soil heating apparatus; electrothermic hair-dressing apparatus (for example, hair dryers, hair curlers, curling tong heaters) and hand dryers; electric smoothing irons; other electro-thermic appliances of a kind used for domestic purposes; electric heating resistors, other than those of heading 8545 |
| 29 | 8525 | Digital cameras and video cameras recorders [other than CCTV] |
| 30 | 8528 | Monitors and projectors, not incorporating television reception apparatus; reception apparatus for television, whether or not incorporating radio-broadcast receiver or sound or video recording or reproducing apparatus [other than computer monitors not exceeding 20 inches and set top box for television] |
| 31 | 8701 | Road tractor for semi-trailers of engine capacity exceeding 1800 CC |
| 32 | 8702 | Motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more persons, including the driver |
| 33 | 8703 | Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons (other than those of heading 8702), including station wagons and racing cars [other than Cars for physically handicapped persons] |
| 34 | 8704 | Motor vehicles for the transport of goods [other than Refrigerated motor vehicles] |
| 35 | 8705 | Special purpose motor vehicles, other than those principally designed for the transport of persons or goods (for example, breakdown lorries, crane lorries, fire fighting vehicles, concrete-mixer lorries, road sweeper lorries, spraying lorries, mobile workshops, mobile radiological unit) |
| 36 | 8706 | Chassis fitted with engines, for the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705 |
| 37 | 8707 | Bodies (including cabs), for the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705 |
| 38 | 8708 | Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705 [other than specified parts of tractors] |
| 39 | 8709 | Works trucks, self-propelled, not fitted with lifting or handling equipment, of the type used in factories, warehouses, dock areas or airports for short distance transport of goods; tractors of the type used on railway station platforms; parts of the foregoing vehicles |
| 40 | 8711 | Motorcycles (including mopeds) and cycles fitted with an auxiliary motor, with or without side-cars; side-cars |
| 41 | 8714 | Parts and accessories of vehicles of headings 8711 and 8713 |
| 42 | 8716 | Trailers and semi-trailers; other vehicles, not mechanically propelled; parts thereof [other than Self-loading or self-unloading trailers for agricultural purposes, and Hand propelled vehicles (e.g. hand carts, rickshaws and the like); animal drawn vehicles] |
| 43 | 8803 | Aircrafts for personal use |
| 44 | 8903 | Yachts and other vessels for pleasure or sports; rowing boats and canoes |
| 45 | 9302 | Revolvers and pistols, other than those of heading 9303 or 9304 |
| 46 | 9504 | Video games consoles and Machines, article and accessories for billiards [9504 20 00], other games operated by coins, banknotes, i.e., casino games [9504 20 00] and others [other than board games of 9504 90 90] |
| 47 | 9614 | Smoking pipes (including pipe bowls) and cigar or cigarette holders, and parts thereof |
| 48 | 9616 | Scent sprays and similar toilet sprays, and mounts and heads therefor; powder-puffs and pads for the application of cosmetics or toilet preparations |
| 49 | 9804 | All dutiable articles intended for personal use |
| 50 | - | Any Chapter Lottery-Authorised by State Governments |
How to check the GST rate applicable today
Identify the correct HSN classification, review the current CGST and IGST rate notifications together with amendments and exemption notifications, check any product-specific conditions, and verify whether a separate cess or special provision applies. Changes made after 2017, particularly those implemented in 2025, may alter the treatment of goods in this table.
Official legal and regulatory references
GST Council - decisions, meetings and updates
CBIC GST portal - Acts, rules and notifications
Frequently asked questions
Did all 50 goods remain taxable at 28% after 2017?
No. The list records the Council's 2017 recommendation. Subsequent notifications and reforms changed the rates for various categories.
Does a GST Council recommendation immediately change the rate?
No. A rate change must be implemented through the applicable legal notification, with its specified effective date and conditions.
How do CGST, SGST and IGST relate to the rate?
For a taxable intra-State supply, CGST and SGST or UTGST ordinarily apply; for an inter-State supply, IGST ordinarily applies. The precise rates depend on the relevant current notification and classification.