New GST horizon for Indian print and packaging

India’s printing and packaging industry is preparing for a significant tax transition as the new GST slab structure takes effect on 22 September 2025. Across Ahmedabad and other key print hubs, suppliers and buyers are evaluating what it means when most paper-based packaging shifts to a 5% slab while commercial print largely remains at 18%. Shree Printwell Offset, one of Ahmedabad’s established printing companies, has taken the lead in simplifying this shift for the market it serves and the brands it partners with.

Dwipal Patel, director at Shree Printwell Offset, says, “GST changes are often seen as a burden, but this one is a real opportunity. Brands and buyers can use the savings to invest in better quality and finishes.” He believes the biggest shift is not the percentage itself but “how a purchase order is written and how the job is identified”, with clarity required on supply, substrates and output.

Understanding job work

If the customer provides paper or board and the printer delivers only printing or finishing, the work remains job-work under SAC 9988. The GST payable in such cases defaults to 18% with full input credit.

However, Patel notes that correct classification can change the tax rate. “If the output product is taxed at 5%, the job-work can also be billed at 5%. That means older assumptions need a rethink.”

Patel adds that transparency on who supplies the substrate and how the final product is defined will be essential to avoid disputes later.

Packaging gains ground

Where the printer supplies the paper, print and finishing as a complete product, the slab for most paper-based packaging now becomes 5%. This includes mono cartons, folding cartons, rigid boxes, display boxes and paper bags.

The outcome could be a cost advantage for brands in sectors such as FMCG, cosmetics and retail.

Patel advises buyers to treat this shift as a strategic moment. “If a brand sees savings because their cartons now attract 5% GST, why not use that room to improve structure, sustainability or finishing effects,” he says. He believes alignment on HSN codes and documentation “will reduce back-and-forth and keep input credits moving smoothly”.

Marketing collateral, brochures, catalogues, posters, stationery and POS products continue under the 18% slab except for specific educational exemptions. Patel says misconceptions persist. “Some customers already expect 5% on everything that is printed. That is not how this is designed,” he explains. “Clear classification protects everyone, including auditors.”

Compliance as competitive edge

The transition requires more than adjusting rate sheets. It calls for internal training and updated billing processes. Patel says companies that move quickly “will unlock competitive advantage, not just cost adjustments”. He points out that a previous common practice of customers supplying substrates to save GST loses relevance. “The tax gap is smaller now. Buyers should choose whatever model improves working capital and delivery flow.”

He also highlights that lower GST supports India’s broader sustainability direction. “Paper packaging is already a better environmental choice. Now it gets a tax boost too.”

Designing the future

Patel believes that packaging will no longer be treated as a “cost-only decision” but as a lever for product value. “You pick up a product first with your eyes and hands. If the pack does not build trust, what will,” he says.

By shifting packaging to a lower slab, the government has, in Patel’s view, “nudged the market to innovate more confidently”.

He summarises with a mindset-shift advice. “Do not think of this as a tax problem. Think of it as a procurement upgrade. It is a reset of how print and packaging should be valued.” In his view, the smartest companies will use this transition to build better brand experiences from the outside in.