HSN code: how to find it, and the GST rate that goes with it
The short answer
An HSN code classifies a product, and the GST rate belongs to that code. Businesses with turnover up to ₹5 crore must show at least 4 digits on invoices to other businesses. Above ₹5 crore, 6 digits on every invoice. Services use a SAC code, which starts with 99. Find a code by its chapter, then confirm the rate at the CBIC rate finder.
Every GST rate is written against a code, not a product name. If you have the right code, the rate follows. If you guess the code, you are guessing the rate, and a wrong rate on an invoice is your problem, not your buyer’s.
What the code is
HSN stands for Harmonized System of Nomenclature. It is a classification of goods maintained by the World Customs Organization, used by most trading countries so that a product carries the same number at every border. India uses it for GST in an eight-digit form.
Each pair of digits narrows the product down:
| Digits | Level | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Chapter | 71: pearls, precious stones and metals |
| 4 | Heading | 7113: articles of jewellery |
| 6 | Subheading | A finer split within the heading |
| 8 | Tariff item | The most specific level |
Chapter 09, for example, covers coffee, tea and spices, and heading 0902 within it is tea.
Services use a separate list, the Services Accounting Code, or SAC. SAC codes start with 99 and run to six digits. Group 9963, for instance, covers accommodation, food and beverage services, which is where restaurants sit.
How many digits your invoice needs
The rule since 1 April 2021 depends on your aggregate turnover in the previous financial year:
- Up to ₹5 crore: at least 4 digits on invoices to registered businesses. On invoices to consumers, the code can be left off.
- Above ₹5 crore: at least 6 digits on every invoice.
More digits than the minimum is always allowed. If you are unsure which code fits at 4 digits, the 6- or 8-digit level often makes the answer clearer.
Finding the right code
- Start with the chapter. Work out what the product is made of or what it is for. Most products have an obvious chapter, and the chapter titles are short enough to read through.
- Narrow to the heading. Read the four-digit headings in that chapter and pick the one that describes your product, not one that merely mentions a similar thing.
- Check the rate against the code. Look the code up at the CBIC rate finder and read the description next to it. If the description does not match what you sell, keep looking.
- Look at what your supplier uses. A purchase invoice for the same goods usually carries a code. It is a useful check, but it is not proof. Suppliers get codes wrong too.
When a product genuinely sits between two headings, that is a question for a tax professional, not a coin toss. A wrong code can mean the wrong rate on every invoice you have raised.
Why the rate can change under you
Rates are notified against codes, and notifications change. The largest recent change came on 22 September 2025, when the main slabs became 0%, 5%, 18% and 40%. Codes that were at 12% or 28% moved to a neighbouring slab. A rate chart printed before that date may be wrong for your code today.
So keep the date in mind as well as the code. Any rate list you rely on, including an app’s, should say when its rates were last updated.
Looking it up on your phone
GST Calculator finds a product’s HSN or SAC code by name: search “biscuits” and HSN 1905 comes up. It does not yet carry a checked rate for every code, so take the rate for that code from the official CBIC rate finder, then tap the matching slab. The app shows the date its slabs came from, so you can tell whether they predate a change. The app is independent, not a government service.
With the rate in hand, the arithmetic is simple. Our guides cover adding and removing GST and splitting it into CGST, SGST or IGST.
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