Pens, school bags, textbooks to be dearer with 18% GST from Sept 22

The new revised Goods and Services Tax (GST) will increase essentials for students, including pens, school bags, and printed books, and this in turn will make textbooks dearer as they fall under 18 per cent GST after generalisation, effective from September 22.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has issued a sweeping notification revising GST rates for nearly 1,200 goods, and the move is part of the GST Council’s September 3 decision to rationalise tax slabs across states and Union Territories.

The revised chart has consolidated the tax structure into seven schedules, and officials say this step is aimed at providing greater clarity and consistency across categories. Ballpoint pens, fountain pens, markers, and other writing instruments were earlier taxed at varying rates, but they are now uniformly placed under the 18 per cent slab, while school bags, satchels, suitcases, vanity cases, musical instrument cases, and travel bags also fall under the same category.

Writing chalk and tailor’s chalk, which were earlier taxed at 12 per cent, will now be fully exempted, and laboratory notebooks too will continue to remain outside the tax net. However, the inclusion of uncoated paper used for printed books under the 18 per cent slab has triggered concern, and the absence of printed books from the exemption list has raised fears of higher textbook prices, which could affect affordability for students and teachers.

Tax experts point out that the early notification allows businesses time to update pricing, make adjustments in ERP systems, and realign supply chains, and they argue that this advance clarity will ensure smoother execution from September 22.