GST Rates and HSN Codes for Building Material
A material shop bills across three or four GST slabs on a single invoice, which is why getting the rate and the HSN code onto the item once matters so much. This is the reference our own customers ask for most often.
Why one bill carries several rates
Cement sits at 28%, TMT steel and most hardware at 18%, and sand and natural aggregate at 5%. A contractor buying for one slab of a house takes all three in a single load, so the invoice has to apply a different rate line by line. Software that asks you to choose a GST rate for the whole bill cannot do this correctly, which is why MaterialBill keeps the rate on the item instead. Set it once when you create the item and every bill afterwards is right.
Getting the HSN code right
The HSN code is what the return actually reports against, and a wrong one surfaces during scrutiny rather than at the counter. The codes for the common material lines are stable, and the table below covers what most shops sell. For anything you are unsure about, confirm it with your CA rather than guessing — and once it is on the item record you never have to think about it again.
Where shops most often get the rate wrong
Four mistakes come up repeatedly. Charging 18% on sand and aggregate, which sit at 5% — the customer usually spots that one. Treating bricks as a single rate, when clay building bricks and fly ash blocks are classified differently. Billing a mixed load at whichever rate the largest line carries, which then understates or overstates the tax on everything else on the bill. And applying the material rate to the freight charged on the same invoice, when transport has its own treatment. The first three disappear the moment the rate is held on the item rather than chosen per bill; the fourth is worth a specific question to your CA about how you bill delivery.
Keeping this current
GST rates and HSN classifications change by notification, sometimes with little warning, and a rate that was correct last year may not be correct now. Two habits keep you safe. Review the rates on your top twenty items once a year with your accountant, since those are the lines where an error is repeated hundreds of times. And check before adding a new product line rather than copying the rate from something that looks similar, which is how a wrong classification quietly spreads. Because the rate sits on the item here, a change is one edit that applies to every bill afterwards — you are correcting a record, not a stack of invoices.
Common building material GST rates and HSN codes
| Item | HSN | GST |
|---|---|---|
| Cement (Portland, OPC, PPC) | 2523 | 28% |
| TMT bars, rebar, structural steel | 7213 / 7214 | 18% |
| MS angle, channel, beam | 7216 | 18% |
| Sand (natural) | 2505 | 5% |
| Stone aggregate, gitti, crushed stone | 2517 | 5% |
| Bricks (building bricks, fly ash) | 6901 / 6815 | 5% / 12% |
| Ceramic and vitrified tiles | 6907 | 18% |
| Marble and granite slabs | 6802 | 18% |
| Sanitaryware (ceramic) | 6910 | 18% |
| Paint, varnish, primer | 3208 / 3209 | 18% |
| Wall putty | 3214 | 18% |
| Plywood, block board, MDF | 4412 / 4410 | 18% |
| PVC pipes and fittings | 3917 | 18% |
| GI and MS pipes | 7306 | 18% |
| Screws, nuts, bolts, fasteners | 7318 | 18% |
| Door and window hardware | 8302 | 18% |
| Electrical wire and cable | 8544 | 18% |
| Switches, sockets, MCB | 8536 | 18% |
| Water tanks (plastic) | 3925 | 18% |
| Adhesive, waterproofing compound | 3506 / 3214 | 18% |
Frequently asked questions
Are these rates current?
Can one bill have cement at 28% and steel at 18%?
What if I use the wrong HSN code?
Do I need HSN codes on every invoice?
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