Butter, chocolate, and shampoo to cost less soon

Business Sep 04, 2025

Good news if you love chocolates, coffee, or just need your daily shampoo—GST rates on a bunch of essentials are dropping soon.
Items like packaged water, chocolates, coffee, malt foods, soap, toothpaste, and shampoo will see their tax rate fall from 18% to 5%.
Even butter and fruit juices are getting cheaper with GST dropping from 12% to 5%.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shared the update on Wednesday.

GST will move to just 2 main slabs

These changes are part of a bigger plan to make taxes simpler and boost the economy.
By September 2025, GST will move to just two main slabs—5% for basics and 18% for most other things—with luxury goods taxed at 40%.
For now though, this means more money stays in your pocket when you shop for everyday stuff.