Cement and TMT steel both carry 18% GST now. For steel that's nothing new. For cement it's a cut from 28%, in force since 22 September 2025, and it's the single biggest change in GST 2.0 for anyone building a house.
Most other materials on a site stayed where they were. A few stone and brick items moved down to 5%. Clay bricks are the odd one out and stayed at 12% under a separate notification. The table below has the details, and after it we've priced out a real-sized job so you can see where the tax actually piles up.
If cement is all you need, the GST on cement page goes into per-bag maths and HSN 2523 in more depth.
GST rates on building materials after 22 September 2025
| Material | HSN | Before 22 Sep 2025 | From 22 Sep 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cement (OPC, PPC, white, clinker) | 2523 | 28% | 18% |
| TMT bars and rods of iron or non-alloy steel | 7213 to 7215 | 18% | 18% |
| Natural sand | 2505 | 5% | 5% |
| Crushed stone, gravel, aggregate | 2517 | 5% | 5% |
| Building bricks (clay) | 6904 10 00 | 12% | 12% |
| Fly ash bricks and blocks | 6815 | 12% | 12% |
| Sand lime bricks | 68 | 12% | 5% |
| Marble and granite blocks | 2515 12 10 / 2516 | 12% | 5% |
| Polished marble and granite slabs | 6802 | 18% | 18% |
| Ceramic and vitrified tiles | 6907 | 18% | 18% |
| Paints, varnishes, distemper | 3208 to 3210 | 18% | 18% |
| Wall putty | 3214 | 18% | 18% |
| PVC pipes and fittings | 3917 | 18% | 18% |
| Electrical wires and cables | 8544 | 18% | 18% |
| Sanitaryware (basins, WCs) | 6910 | 18% | 18% |
Rates are the combined GST (CGST + SGST, or IGST). Source: Notification 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) Schedules I and II, and Notification 14/2025-Central Tax (Rate) for bricks, both dated 17 September 2025.
GST on cement in India: what the cut means
Ten percentage points off a material you buy by the hundred bags is real money. At 28%, ₹100 of cement value cost you ₹128. Now it costs ₹118. On a bag priced around ₹330 before tax, that's roughly ₹33 less per bag, if the brand and the dealer passed the cut on.
That "if" matters. GST only sets the tax on the price. The base price is the company's and dealer's call. When you compare quotes, ask for the rate before GST. It's the only number that lets you compare two dealers fairly.
GST on cement and steel together
Steel is the bigger cheque on most RCC jobs, and it was at 18% before GST 2.0 too. Bars and rods of iron or non-alloy steel sit in HSN 7213 to 7215 and are taxed at 18%. Structural sections like angles and channels are also at 18%.
So after the cement cut, the two biggest structural items carry the same rate. That makes the arithmetic easy. Add the cement and steel values before tax, multiply by 1.18, done.
Sand and bricks: the 5% and 12% items
Natural sand and crushed stone stay at 5%. These are bulky, low-value loads, and the tax on them is small next to cement and steel.
Bricks are where people get confused. When the 12% slab was folded away for most goods, clay building bricks, fly ash bricks and blocks, fossil-meal bricks and earthen roofing tiles were given their own notification at 6% CGST plus 6% SGST. So a brick bill dated today can correctly show 12%. Sand lime bricks are different again and dropped to 5%.
Using our calculator for a brick bill? Pick 12% from the older-rates list. It still applies to bricks.
Finishing materials like tiles and paint
Nothing moved here. Tiles, paint, putty, PVC pipes, wiring and sanitaryware were 18% before and are 18% now. The one finishing item that got cheaper is raw marble or granite bought as blocks, which went from 12% to 5%. Polished slabs, which is what most homeowners actually buy, stayed at 18%.
House-floor cost example: adding a floor in Dhayari
The Kulkarnis want to add a 1,000 sq ft floor above their ground-floor house in Dhayari. They're buying materials themselves and paying a labour contractor separately. Prices below are our own round numbers before GST, only to show how the tax adds up. Your engineer's quantities and your dealer's rates will differ.
- Cement, 400 bags × ₹330 = ₹1,32,000 → GST 18% = ₹23,760
- TMT steel, 3,500 kg × ₹58 = ₹2,03,000 → GST 18% = ₹36,540
- Sand ₹60,000 → GST 5% = ₹3,000, and aggregate ₹40,000 → GST 5% = ₹2,000
- Clay bricks, 12,000 × ₹9 = ₹1,08,000 → GST 12% = ₹12,960
- Vitrified tiles ₹55,000 and paint ₹45,000 → GST 18% = ₹9,900 + ₹8,100
Material before tax: ₹6,43,000. GST: ₹96,260. Total: ₹7,39,260.
That works out to about 15% overall, a little below 18% because the 5% and 12% items pull the average down. Of the ₹96,260, steel alone is ₹36,540, more than a third.
And the cement cut? At the old 28%, those 400 bags would have carried ₹36,960 of GST. At 18% it's ₹23,760. The family saves ₹13,200 on cement tax, assuming the bag price before tax is the same.
You can rerun this with your own quotes. Put each line into the calculator above, one rate at a time, and add the totals.
If a contractor supplies the material
Everything above assumes you buy materials yourself. When you give the whole job, material plus labour, to a contractor, you're buying a construction service, and GST goes on the contract value at the rate for that service. The material rates in the table then sit inside the contractor's costs. Ask how the invoice will be raised before you sign.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the GST on cement and steel in 2026?
What is the GST rate on cement in India?
Why does my brick bill show 12% GST when the 12% slab was removed?
What is the GST on sand?
Did GST on tiles and paint change with GST 2.0?
Related: GST on cement · GST rates 2026 · Multi-item GST calculator · GST inclusive calculator
General information, not tax advice. Prices and quantities in the example are illustrations, not market rates. Sources: Notification 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) (as updated to 2026); Notification 14/2025-Central Tax (Rate); 56th GST Council recommendations (3 September 2025).
Last reviewed 29 October 2026.