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Guide · GST Rates

GST on Textile, Fabric & Garments —
5% or 18%?

The correct GST rate for cotton, silk, wool and man-made fabric, readymade garments, textile job work, HSN codes and the inverted-duty position after the GST 2.0 reform.

TaxClue Editorial Desk Updated 18 August 2026 6 min read 16 FAQs answered
Updated for FY 2026-27 GST Expert Reviewed Fabric, Yarn & Garment
Quick Answer

After the GST 2.0 reform (effective 22 September 2025), all fabric — cotton, silk, wool, jute and man-made — is taxed at 5%. Man-made fibre and yarn were also cut to 5% (from 18% and 12%), largely fixing the inverted-duty problem. Readymade garments up to ₹2,500 per piece attract 5%; garments above ₹2,500 attract 18%. Textile job work is 5% across the sector.

All fabric 5%
Yarn & MMF fibre 5%
Garment ≤ ₹2,500 5%
Garment > ₹2,500 18%
At a glance

GST Rate Table for Textile Products

Every common textile product with its HSN chapter and current GST rate under the GST 2.0 two-slab structure. Use our HSN / SAC code finder to confirm a specific product.

ProductHSNGST RateNotes
Raw cotton5201–52035%Ginned, unginned, cotton waste
Cotton yarn / sewing thread5204–52075%Single or multiple, carded/combed
Cotton fabrics (woven)5208–52125%Grey, bleached, dyed, printed
Silk fabrics / raw silk5004–50075%Includes silk yarn & noil
Wool fabrics / wool yarn5106–51135%Wool & fine animal hair
Jute fabrics5307–53105%Jute yarn & woven fabric
Man-made fibre (staple / filament tow)5501–550718%MMF raw material still at 18%
Man-made filament yarn (polyester/nylon)5402–54065%Cut from 12% under GST 2.0
Man-made staple yarn (viscose/acrylic)5508–55115%Cut from 12% under GST 2.0
Man-made fabric (poly/viscose, woven & knit)5407–5408 / 5512–55165%Cut from 12% — now same as cotton
Knitted / crocheted fabric6001–60065%All fibres, uniform 5%
Garments & apparel ≤ ₹2,500/piece6101–6117 / 6201–62175%Knitted or woven — 5% up to ₹2,500
Garments & apparel > ₹2,500/piece6101–6117 / 6201–621718%Per-piece transaction value
Made-up articles (bed linen, towels) ≤ ₹2,5006301–63085%5% up to ₹2,500/piece
Made-up articles > ₹2,500/piece6301–630818%Same per-piece rule as apparel
Khadi / hand-woven fabricVarious5%Sold through KVIC/khadi outlets

Rates reflect the GST 2.0 two-slab structure effective 22 September 2025 (56th GST Council, notifications of 17 Sep 2025). Confirm on the official GST portal before invoicing.

The core split

Fabric & Yarn vs Readymade Garments

Two things decide textile GST now. Fabric, yarn and fibre sit at a flat 5% (only MMF raw material is 18%). For readymade garments and made-up articles, the deciding factor is the sale price per piece — the ₹2,500 threshold.

5%

Fabric, yarn & affordable apparel

  • All fabric — cotton, silk, wool, jute, man-made
  • Cotton, silk, wool, poly & viscose yarn
  • Man-made fibre & yarn (cut from 12–18%)
  • Garments & made-ups ≤ ₹2,500 per piece
  • Textile job work services
vs
18%

Premium apparel & MMF raw material

  • Garments & made-up articles > ₹2,500/piece
  • Man-made fibre raw material (pre-yarn)
  • Rate is per piece, not per invoice
  • Full input-tax credit available
  • Technical / industrial textile products
The ₹2,500 rule is per piece, not per bill

A single invoice with ten shirts at ₹1,500 each is taxed at 5% per shirt — the values are not aggregated. Only when an individual garment's sale value exceeds ₹2,500 does that piece move to 18%. Classify each SKU by its per-piece price.

Not sure which slab your textile products fall in?

Get My GST Rate →
Powerloom & processing

GST on Job Work in the Textile Industry

Job work across the entire textile sector attracts a concessional 5% GST under SAC 9988. This covers the decentralised weaving, dyeing and processing units that dominate Indian textiles:

Yarn / fabricPrincipal sends material
Job workerWeaves, dyes, prints, stitches
5% GSTOn job-work charges (SAC 9988)
ReturnsPrincipal & worker report the supply
  • Weaving — converting yarn to fabric on a job-work basis.
  • Dyeing, bleaching & printing of yarn or fabric.
  • Embroidery & finishing — calendaring, stentering, compacting.
  • Cutting & stitching of garments for a principal.

If the activity does not fall under SAC 9988 textile job work, standard 18% GST may apply. Keep delivery challans and job-work registers under GST return rules.

Worked example

How GST Adds Up on Apparel

5% Shirt priced at ₹2,000

Sale value / piece₹2,000
GST @ 5%₹100
Customer pays₹2,100

18% Jacket priced at ₹4,000

Sale value / piece₹4,000
GST @ 18%₹720
Customer pays₹4,720

Use the GST calculator to work out tax on any textile price and slab.

Running a powerloom, dyeing or job-work unit? Get your GST set up right.

Get Textile GST Advice →
Man-made fibre segment

Inverted Duty Structure — Mostly Fixed

For years the man-made fibre (MMF) chain suffered an inverted duty structure: fibre at 18% and yarn at 12% feeding fabric at 12% and garments at 5%, leaving manufacturers with unusable accumulated ITC. GST 2.0 cut MMF yarn and fabric to 5%, sharply reducing the mismatch.

StageOld GSTNew GST (22 Sep 2025)
Man-made fibre (raw material)18%18%
Man-made yarn12%5%
Man-made fabric12%5%
Garment ≤ ₹2,5005%5%

Only the fibre-to-yarn step still carries a residual inversion (18% → 5%); refunds under Section 54(3) may still arise there.

Where an inversion remains — mainly fibre bought at 18% converted into 5% yarn — the accumulated ITC can still be refunded under Section 54(3) of the CGST Act. See our guide on GST refund of accumulated ITC.

Small textile traders

Composition Scheme & Registration

Textile businesses dealing in goods must register once turnover crosses ₹40 lakh (₹20 lakh in special-category states). Traders up to ₹1.5 crore may opt for the composition scheme at 1%, but cannot collect GST or pass on input tax credit.

Composition suits you if

  • You are a small local trader with mostly B2C sales
  • You want simple quarterly compliance
  • You don't need to pass on ITC to buyers

Avoid composition if

  • You export or make inter-state supplies
  • Your buyers need ITC on their purchases
  • You have an inverted-duty ITC refund to claim

Want us to check whether composition or regular registration is cheaper?

Talk to a GST Expert →
Stay compliant

Textile GST Compliance Checklist

A practical checklist for textile manufacturers, traders, wholesalers and job-work units after GST 2.0:

  • GST registration (GSTIN)
  • Correct HSN & rate on every SKU
  • Per-piece pricing for the ₹2,500 apparel rule
  • Tax invoice / bill of supply
  • Job-work delivery challans & register
  • GSTR-1 (outward supplies)
  • GSTR-3B (monthly/quarterly)
  • ITC reconciliation (GSTR-2B)
  • Inverted-duty refund (if applicable)
  • E-way bill on movements
  • GSTR-9 annual return
  • Books & stock records
TaxClue Insight

GST 2.0 removed most of the textile inverted-duty pain by bringing MMF yarn and fabric to 5%. But the fibre-to-yarn step (18% → 5%) can still leave refundable credit, and mis-pricing garments around the ₹2,500 line is a common audit flag — classify each SKU by its per-piece sale value.

Government sourcesRates & notifications: gst.gov.in · CBIC rate finder: cbic-gst.gov.in · GST 2.0 textile changes: 56th GST Council (3 Sep 2025), CBIC rate notifications (17 Sep 2025), eff. 22 Sep 2025 · Inverted-duty refund: Section 54(3), CGST Act 2017
People also ask

Frequently Asked Questions

Fabric & Yarn
What is the GST rate on fabric in India?
All fabric is taxed at 5% GST. After the GST 2.0 reform effective 22 September 2025, cotton, silk, wool, jute and man-made (polyester/viscose) fabrics — whether woven, knitted or non-woven — attract a uniform 5% regardless of value. The earlier 12% rate on man-made fabric was removed and brought down to 5%.
Is there GST on cotton fabric?
Yes, 5%. Cotton fabrics (HSN 5208–5212) attract 5% GST whether grey, bleached, dyed or printed. Raw cotton (HSN 5201–5203) and cotton yarn (HSN 5204–5207) are also at 5%, keeping the whole cotton value chain at a single 5% rate.
What is the GST rate on polyester and man-made fabric now?
5%. Under GST 2.0, man-made filament and staple fabrics (HSN 5407–5408 and 5512–5516) were cut from 12% to 5%, the same as natural-fibre fabric. Man-made yarn was also cut from 12% to 5%. Only man-made fibre raw material (HSN 5501–5507) remains at 18%.
Are silk and wool fabrics taxed the same as cotton?
Yes. Silk fabrics (HSN 5004–5007) and wool fabrics (HSN 5106–5113) attract 5% GST, the same as cotton and — after GST 2.0 — the same as man-made fabric. Raw silk, silk yarn, raw wool and wool yarn are also at 5%.
Garments & Apparel
What is the GST rate on readymade garments in 2025-26?
Readymade garments and apparel priced up to ₹2,500 per piece attract 5% GST; garments priced above ₹2,500 per piece attract 18%. The GST 2.0 reform (effective 22 September 2025) raised the threshold from the earlier ₹1,000 to ₹2,500 and moved the upper slab from 12% to 18%.
Is the ₹2,500 garment threshold per piece or per bill?
Per piece. The rate is decided by the sale value of each individual garment, not the total invoice. Ten shirts at ₹1,500 each on one bill are all taxed at 5%, because no single piece exceeds ₹2,500. Only an individual garment whose sale value crosses ₹2,500 is taxed at 18%.
What GST applies to a garment priced above ₹2,500?
18%. Any article of apparel or made-up textile article with a per-piece sale value above ₹2,500 attracts 18% GST after GST 2.0 (up from the earlier 12%). Below or equal to ₹2,500, the rate is 5%.
What is the GST rate on bed sheets, towels and other made-ups?
Made-up textile articles such as bed linen, towels and curtains (HSN 6301–6308) follow the same per-piece rule as apparel: 5% up to ₹2,500 per piece and 18% above ₹2,500 per piece.
Job Work & Compliance
What is the GST rate on textile job work?
5%. Job work across the entire textile sector — weaving, knitting, dyeing, bleaching, printing, embroidery, finishing and stitching — attracts a concessional 5% GST under SAC 9988. If an activity falls outside textile job work, standard 18% GST may apply.
When must a textile business register for GST?
A textile business supplying goods must register once aggregate turnover crosses ₹40 lakh (₹20 lakh in special-category states). Businesses making inter-state supplies or selling through e-commerce may need to register regardless of turnover. Service or job-work turnover uses the ₹20 lakh service threshold.
Can textile traders use the composition scheme?
Yes. Textile traders with turnover up to ₹1.5 crore can opt for the composition scheme and pay 1% of turnover, but they cannot collect GST on their bills or pass on input tax credit, and cannot make inter-state supplies. It suits small local B2C traders rather than exporters or wholesalers whose buyers need ITC.
Inverted Duty & ITC
Did GST 2.0 fix the inverted duty structure in textiles?
Largely, yes. By cutting man-made yarn and fabric from 12% to 5%, GST 2.0 removed most of the inverted-duty mismatch in the man-made fibre chain. A residual inversion remains only at the fibre-to-yarn step, where fibre bought at 18% is spun into 5% yarn, which can still create refundable accumulated ITC.
Can textile manufacturers claim a GST refund on accumulated ITC?
Yes, where an inverted duty structure still applies. Under Section 54(3) of the CGST Act, a manufacturer whose input GST (for example 18% on man-made fibre) exceeds output GST (5% on yarn or fabric) can claim a refund of the accumulated input tax credit through the prescribed refund process.
Can I claim ITC on textile purchases?
Yes, if you are registered under the regular scheme, hold valid tax invoices and the credit appears in your GSTR-2B. Textile inputs, job-work charges and business expenses are eligible for input tax credit under normal rules. Composition dealers cannot claim ITC.
General
What is the HSN code for textiles and garments?
Textiles fall under HSN Chapters 50–63: silk (50), wool (51), cotton (52), man-made filaments (54), man-made staple fibres (55), knitted fabrics (60), knitted apparel (61), woven apparel (62) and made-up articles (63). Use a HSN finder to confirm the exact 6- or 8-digit code and rate for a specific product.
Is khadi and hand-woven fabric taxed differently?
Khadi and hand-woven fabrics sold through KVIC or certified khadi outlets are at 5%, in line with all fabric. Certain hand-made and traditional items may have specific exemptions, so confirm the exact HSN on the GST portal for a particular product.
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