HSN Codes for Ecommerce Sellers (2026): Rules and Mistakes

If your turnover is up to ₹5 crore you need a 4-digit HSN code on B2B invoices. Above ₹5 crore, 6 digits on every invoice. Exports and imports need 8. That threshold is based on your previous financial year's turnover and does not change mid-year.

Two things make this more urgent than it sounds in 2026. First, GST slabs were restructured in September 2025, so a code you set two years ago may now sit in a different tax rate. Second, GSTR-1 now forces you to pick codes from a dropdown rather than type them, which surfaces errors you were previously getting away with.

What an HSN code actually is

HSN stands for Harmonized System of Nomenclature - an international product classification system from the World Customs Organization. Every physical product has one, and the code determines the GST rate you charge.

It is built in layers, each pair of digits narrowing the description:

Level	Digits	Example
Chapter	2	84 - machinery
Heading	4	8471 - computers and peripherals
Sub-heading	6	8471.30 - portable computers
Tariff item	8	8471.30.10 - personal computers

Only the first four digits are common worldwide. From six digits onward, India adds its own classifications, which is why an international product code you find online may not match the Indian one.

Services use SAC codes instead, which are 6 digits by default.

How many digits you need

The current rules come from CBIC Notification 78/2020, effective 1 April 2021:

Your turnover last year	On invoices
Up to ₹5 crore	4 digits, mandatory on B2B, optional on B2C
Above ₹5 crore	6 digits, on all invoices
Exports and imports	8 digits

Three things sellers get wrong here:

It is based on last year, not this year. If FY 2025-26 turnover was ₹4.8 crore, you use 4 digits through all of FY 2026-27. If you crossed ₹5 crore last year, you use 6 digits all this year even if sales drop.

Two digits is not enough any more. Before the 2020 notification, businesses under ₹1.5 crore were exempt entirely and those up to ₹5 crore could use 2-digit chapter codes. That is gone. If your invoice template still shows 2 digits, or no HSN at all, it is running on rules that expired in 2021.

Composition dealers are not exempt. Common assumption, not true.

The 2025 change that affects your code

This is the part most sellers have not caught up with.

The 56th GST Council meeting on 3 September 2025 restructured the slabs, effective 22 September 2025. The old five-tier system of 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% became 0%, 5%, 18% and 40%.

• The 12% slab was eliminated. Most of it moved down to 5%, the remainder to 18%.
• The 28% slab was restructured. Most moved down to 18%, with luxury and demerit goods moving up to a new 40% rate.
• A handful of special rates remain, such as 3% on gold and precious stones.

For a marketplace seller, the practical question is simple: was your product in the 12% or 28% slab before September 2025? If yes, its rate almost certainly changed, and your listings and invoices need to reflect that.

Fashion sellers in particular should check. Reporting at the time indicated textiles above a price threshold moved to 18% while much of the rest went to 5% - so two items in the same catalog can now sit in different slabs. Do not assume your whole category moved together.

You can check any rate against your price with our free GST calculator.

Where the code goes when you sell online

On Meesho, HSN is part of your catalog listing. It sits alongside the other product attributes when you upload, and it feeds the tax applied to your orders. The Supplier Panel guide covers where catalog fields live.

On Amazon and Flipkart, HSN is a required field during listing creation, and both will reject or flag listings where the code and category clearly disagree.

In your GST returns, HSN appears in Table 12 of GSTR-1. From May 2025, Phase III of that reporting means you select codes from a dropdown rather than typing them, with separate B2B and B2C tabs. Manual entry is gone.

That change matters more than it looks. Sellers who had been entering a slightly wrong or outdated code by hand now find it simply is not available, which is a good outcome discovered at a bad moment. Check your codes before your filing deadline, not during it.

What a wrong code costs

Three separate consequences, and the third is the one that damages relationships:

1. Wrong code means wrong rate. You either under-collect GST, and owe the difference with interest, or over-collect and irritate customers.
2. Penalties. Incorrect invoicing details can attract penalties under Section 122 of the CGST Act, running into tens of thousands of rupees depending on the provision applied.
3. Your B2B buyer loses their input tax credit. A wrong HSN is one of the common reasons an invoice gets rejected by a buyer's accounts team. They stop buying from suppliers whose invoices they cannot claim against.

For a B2C marketplace seller the third point rarely bites, but the first two do.

How to find the right code

There is no shortcut worth trusting. The method:

1. Start at the chapter. Identify the broad category your product belongs to on CBIC's classification list.
2. Narrow to the heading, then the sub-heading. Read the actual wording - classification follows the terms of the heading, not what the product is called in the market.
3. Check at 6 digits even if you only need 4. Two products under the same 4-digit heading can carry different rates at the 6-digit level. Confirming deeper protects you from picking a heading that averages two different rates.
4. Verify the rate that code currently attracts, given the September 2025 restructure.

If a product genuinely sits between two codes, the general rule is that the more specific heading beats the general one. Where real money or real ambiguity is involved, that is a question for a qualified professional or an advance ruling, not for a blog.

Be careful with code lists you find online. Many were written before September 2025 and show slabs that no longer exist. A code with a 12% rate next to it is, by itself, evidence the page is out of date.

The honest bit

We are not publishing a table of common HSN codes here, and that is deliberate.

Getting one wrong has tax consequences for you and your buyers, and a list compiled by a content writer is exactly the sort of source that spreads outdated codes. Everything else on this site is written from real seller panels and real settlement data. HSN classification is not that - it is a legal classification question, and it deserves the official list rather than our summary of it.

What we can tell you honestly is the method above, the digit rules, and the fact that the slabs changed last September. Use the government portal for the code itself, and get a professional opinion if your product is genuinely ambiguous.

FAQ

How many digits should my HSN code be?

4 digits if your previous financial year turnover was up to ₹5 crore, mandatory on B2B invoices. 6 digits if it was above ₹5 crore, on all invoices. 8 digits for exports and imports. Two-digit chapter codes are no longer sufficient.

HSN code kaise pata kare?

Pehle apne product ka broad chapter dekho, phir heading, phir 6-digit sub-heading tak jao - heading ka actual description padho, market ka naam nahi. Government GST portal se hi confirm karo. Purane blog lists mat use karo, kyunki September 2025 mein slabs badal gaye hain.

Did GST rates change recently?

Yes. The 56th GST Council meeting on 3 September 2025 restructured the slabs with effect from 22 September 2025. The 12% and 28% slabs were removed - most 12% items moved to 5%, most 28% items to 18%, and a new 40% slab was created for luxury and demerit goods. If your product was in either removed slab, its rate changed.

What happens if I use the wrong HSN code?

You charge the wrong GST rate, which means either paying the shortfall with interest or over-charging customers. Incorrect invoice details can also attract penalties under Section 122 of the CGST Act, and a B2B buyer may be unable to claim input tax credit against your invoice.

Do I need an HSN code if I sell without GST?

If you are selling on an Enrolment ID rather than a GSTIN, you are not issuing GST invoices, so the invoice-level HSN requirement does not apply to you. Marketplaces may still ask for a category classification at listing. See selling on Meesho without GST for what that route does and does not cover.

Where does HSN appear in my GST return?

Table 12 of GSTR-1. Since Phase III began in May 2025, codes are selected from a dropdown rather than typed, with separate B2B and B2C tabs. The rest of the filing cycle is covered in GST for ecommerce sellers.

Can I use the same HSN code for my whole catalog?

Only if every product genuinely classifies the same way. Sellers often assume one code covers a category, then find two items in it now sit in different slabs after the 2025 restructure. Check per product, not per catalog.

---

An HSN Code Finder is on our free tools list. Until it ships, use the official GST portal for the code itself - and if you need a GSTIN first, we handle GST registration at ₹999.