GST Exempt Products to Sell Online Without Registration in 2026
If everything you sell is wholly exempt from GST, such as printed books, notebooks, pencils, fresh fruit, clay diyas or rakhis, section 23 of the CGST Act says you need not register, even when you sell through a marketplace. The catch: one taxable product in your catalogue and the normal registration rules apply again.
- Section 23(1)(a) excludes from registration a person engaged only in supplying goods that are not taxable or wholly exempt.
- The list of exempt goods is Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate), in force from 22 September 2025, with a matching IGST notification for sales to other States.
- Many food items are exempt only when not pre-packaged and labelled. Sold online in a sealed, labelled pack, the same rice or honey is taxable.
- Notebooks, exercise books, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, maps and globes became exempt from 22 September 2025.
- As on 13 Nov 2026, Amazon's seller guide says GST-exempt products can be sold with PAN details, without a GST number.
In this guide
Why does the law let you skip registration?
Registration exists so that you can collect GST and pass on credit. If nothing you sell carries GST, there is nothing to collect. So section 23 keeps such sellers out altogether, whatever their turnover.
But doesn't section 24 force every marketplace seller to register? It does say that people supplying goods through an operator that collects tax at source must register. Section 24 overrides only the turnover limit in section 22, not the exclusion in section 23. And the marketplace's tax collection applies to taxable sales. The common reading is that an exclusively exempt seller stays outside GST even online. If your case is borderline, have a CA confirm it before you list.
Which products are exempt? The ones that suit online sellers
The full schedule has more than 170 entries. These are the ones most often sold online. The serial number is from Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate).
| Product | Entry | Condition to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Printed books, including Braille books | S. No. 132 | Printed books only. Diaries and planners are not in this entry. |
| Children's picture, drawing or colouring books | S. No. 134 | None stated |
| Exercise books, graph books, laboratory notebooks and notebooks | S. No. 130 | Exempt from 22 September 2025 |
| Pencils, crayons, pastels, chalks; sharpeners; erasers | S. Nos. 163, 156, 121 | Exempt from 22 September 2025 |
| Printed maps, atlases, wall maps and globes | S. No. 136 | Exempt from 22 September 2025 |
| Earthen pots and clay lamps; idols made of clay | S. Nos. 151, 152 | Clay only |
| Rakhi | S. No. 171 | Not if made of precious metals or stones (Chapter 71) |
| Kumkum, bindi, sindur, alta, kajal | S. No. 117 | Kajal pencil sticks are excluded |
| Plastic bangles, glass bangles, lac bangles | S. Nos. 119, 153, 154 | Glass bangles not of precious metals |
| Puja items such as rudraksha mala, sacred thread, roli, kalava, chandan tika, diya wicks | S. No. 167 | Only the items named in the entry |
| Fresh fruit and vegetables; live plants and cut flowers | Chapters 06, 07, 08 | Fresh or chilled as described |
| Rice, wheat flour, pulses, jaggery, natural honey, dried makhana | Various | Only when not pre-packaged and labelled |
| Bread, khakhra, roti, chapati, paratha and other Indian breads; pappad | S. Nos. 99, 100 | Branded or not |
| Sanitary napkins, pads and tampons | S. No. 165 | None stated |
| Indigenous handmade musical instruments | S. No. 161 | Only those named in Annexure II, such as sitar, tabla, dholak and bansuri |
On 27 October 2026 a further notification was issued adding psyllium seeds (isabgol) from 1 November 2026. Lists change, so read the current entry for your product before you rely on it.
How to check your own product, step by step
- Find the HSN code of the product. Our guide on how to find an HSN code shows how.
- Look for that code and a matching description in the schedule of Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate). Both must match, not only the code.
- Read every condition in the entry: pre-packaged and labelled, fresh, handmade, sold through a named body.
- Check every other product you sell. Section 23 needs all of them to be exempt.
- Read your marketplace's own sign-up rules for exempt sellers before you list.
A worked example
Meena runs a stationery shop from Nagpur and sells notebooks, colouring books and pencils on a marketplace. Her yearly sales are Rs 28 lakh. Every product is exempt, so she does not register. The GST charged on her marketplace fees and packaging is simply a cost, because without registration she cannot claim it back.
Now she adds gel pens and desk organisers, which are taxable, expecting Rs 60,000 a year from them. Her sales are no longer exclusively exempt. As a marketplace seller of taxable goods, she has to register, or take the narrow enrolment route that allows sales within her own State only. And her exempt notebook sales of Rs 28 lakh count towards her turnover too.
The mistakes people usually make
The first is reading the product name and not the condition. Atta and honey are exempt loose. In a sealed retail pack with the label the Legal Metrology rules require, they are taxable.
The second is assuming handmade means exempt. Only items named in the schedule are exempt, such as clay idols or the listed instruments. Khadi fabric is exempt only when sold through KVIC and its certified outlets, not by every online seller.
The third is the one taxable item added for convenience, a gift box or a pen with the notebooks. It ends the exemption for the whole business. If you sell with no GSTIN while one taxable line is live, you are trading without a registration you need.
Not sure? Our note on the GST registration limit explains how turnover is counted once you are inside GST.
Sources
- Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate) and 10/2025-Integrated Tax (Rate), 17 September 2025, Gazette of India (egazette.gov.in) (checked 13 Nov 2026)
- PIB release on the 56th GST Council meeting: goods moved to nil and the 22 September 2025 date (pib.gov.in) (checked 13 Nov 2026)
- CGST Act, updated to 30 September 2020: sections 2(47), 23 and 24 (cbic-gst.gov.in) (checked 13 Nov 2026)
- Notification 03/2026-Central Tax (Rate), 27 October 2026, adding psyllium seeds (caalley.com copy) (checked 13 Nov 2026)
- Amazon seller registration guide: selling GST-exempt products with PAN (sell.amazon.in) (checked 13 Nov 2026)
How AprilTax can help
If your catalogue is growing beyond exempt products, a Tax Expert at AprilTax can file your GST registration for Rs 1,499, all online. You share your documents through one form and the Tax Expert takes the application forward. See GST registration with AprilTax.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell GST-exempt products online without GST registration?
Which notification lists GST-exempt goods now?
Are notebooks and pencils exempt from GST?
Is packaged rice or honey exempt?
Can I sell exempt goods to buyers in other States without registration?
Does Amazon let me sell without a GSTIN?
Can I claim back the GST on my marketplace fees if I sell only exempt goods?
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