HSN Code for Footwear with GST Rate 2026: Shoes, Slippers & Sandals

The HSN code for footwear is in Chapter 64, and the heading depends on what the sole and the upper are made of: 6401 for waterproof rubber or plastic footwear, 6402 for other rubber or plastic footwear (slippers, chappals, sandals), 6403 for leather-upper shoes, 6404 for textile-upper shoes such as sports and canvas shoes, and 6405 for other footwear. GST is 5% when the sale value is up to ₹2,500 per pair and 18% above that, from 22 September 2025.

This page lists the codes for every common type of footwear, explains how the ₹2,500 per pair rule works on real bills, and covers parts of footwear, which do not get the 5% rate, along with makers' credit, online sales and the mistakes we see shoe shops make.

HSN codes for footwear

Use the search box above to see every eight-digit line in Chapter 64. The code does not depend on brand or price; the rate does. Two shoes that look alike can sit in different headings because of what the upper is made of, so always check the material tag or the supplier's specification before you fix the code in your billing software.

How to find the right heading: sole and upper

Chapter 64 is arranged by two things: the material of the outer sole (the part that touches the ground) and the material of the upper (the part above the sole). Work through these in order:

1. Is it waterproof, with sole and upper of rubber or plastic, and the upper not stitched, riveted or nailed to the sole? Then 6401 (gumboots, moulded rain boots).
2. Are both sole and upper of rubber or plastic? Then 6402 (most slippers, chappals, sandals and clogs).
3. Is the upper of leather? Then 6403, whatever the sole.
4. Is the upper of textile (canvas, mesh, knit)? Then 6404. Most sports shoes and sneakers are here.
5. None of the above? Then 6405.

When the upper uses more than one material, the material with the largest external surface area decides, ignoring accessories like buckles and eyelets. A running shoe with a mesh upper and small synthetic overlays is textile-upper, 6404. A shoe with a PU or PVC "synthetic leather" upper is 6402 if the sole is rubber or plastic, not 6403: synthetic leather is plastic for this purpose. "Composition leather" in the tariff means leather fibre bonded into sheets, not PU.

GST rate on footwear: the ₹2,500 per pair rule

Notification 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) has two entries for footwear:

• Per pair, not per bill: five pairs of ₹1,800 school shoes on one bill are each below ₹2,500, so all are at 5%.
• On the sale value, not the MRP: a ₹3,499 MRP shoe sold at ₹2,299 after an invoice discount is at 5%.
• Before GST: the test is on the taxable value. A shoe priced ₹2,600 including 5% GST has a taxable value of ₹2,476, so 5% applies.
• Exactly ₹2,500 is 5%. The entry says "not exceeding".
• Wholesale and retail can differ: the same shoe can be 5% when the brand sells it to a dealer at ₹1,600 and 18% when the retailer sells it at ₹2,999.

How the footwear rate changed over the years

Many websites, and Google's AI answers, still show 12% for footwear up to ₹1,000. That rule ended on 21 September 2025. The current split gives 5% on almost all mass-market footwear, including most branded sports shoes sold below ₹2,500.

Parts of footwear are not "footwear"

The 5% entry covers "footwear" of Chapter 64. Parts of footwear under heading 6406 are not footwear, so they fall under Schedule II, S. No. 207 at 18%, whatever their price:

• Uppers, prepared leather uppers, embroidered uppers (6406 10)
• Outer soles and heels of rubber or plastic (6406 20)
• Leather soles, wooden parts, insoles, heel cushions (6406 90)
• Gaiters and leggings (6406 90 40)

This matters for manufacturers. A footwear maker buying soles and uppers at 18% and selling finished shoes at 5% builds up credit every month. That unused credit can be refunded under Section 54(3) of the CGST Act as an inverted duty structure, using the formula in Rule 89(5). Credit on input services and capital goods is not included in the refund.

Other items sold in shoe shops

Worked example: a shoe shop bill

If the shop applied 18% to everything, the customer would pay ₹351 more tax than due, and the shop would still have to deposit all of it under Section 76. If it applied 5% to everything, it would under-pay ₹455 on the formal shoes and polish, plus interest.

Offers, combos and discounts

• Buy one, get one: nothing is free in GST terms. The price paid is spread over both pairs, so "two pairs for ₹3,999" is about ₹2,000 a pair, and both are at 5%.
• Flat discount on the bill: spread it across the items in proportion to their prices to find each pair's value. A discount can bring a pair from above ₹2,500 to below it.
• Discount after the sale: it does not change the rate that applied when the invoice was raised.
• Exchange of old shoes: rare, but the same rule as phones applies: GST on the full price of the new pair.

For footwear manufacturers and job workers

• Job work: stitching, upper-making or sole-pasting on materials owned by the brand is a manufacturing service under SAC 9988. Job work on leather goods and footwear is at the general job work rate of 18% unless it falls in a 5% entry such as textiles; check Notification 11/2017 as amended by 15/2025 for the exact item.
• Raw leather and hides: raw hides and skins (4101 to 4103) and tanned leather (4104 to 4107) have their own entries; check the current rate for the exact type in the finder above.
• Goods sent to a job worker under a delivery challan (Section 143) need no GST if they come back within a year; an e-way bill is still needed above ₹50,000.
• Inverted duty: as explained above, makers selling at 5% and buying parts at 18% should file refund claims every quarter or month to avoid blocked cash.

Ethnic and handmade footwear

India has a large handmade footwear trade: Kolhapuri chappals, Rajasthani and Punjabi juttis, mojaris and leather sandals from Agra and Kanpur. GST treats them like any other footwear:

• Kolhapuri chappals have their own tariff line, 6403 20 40, under leather-sole footwear with leather straps.
• Juttis and mojaris with leather uppers go to 6403; with embroidered fabric uppers and leather soles, to 6404 20 00.
• Handmade does not mean exempt. There is no separate exemption for handmade footwear. A hand-stitched jutti sold at ₹1,800 is at 5%; one sold at ₹3,200 is at 18%.
• Artisans below the registration limit do not charge GST at all. A trader who buys from them and resells must charge GST on the sale and gets no credit on the purchase.

Exporting and importing footwear

Footwear exports, especially leather shoes from Agra, Kanpur, Chennai and Ambur, are zero-rated. An exporter can ship under a Letter of Undertaking without paying IGST and claim a refund of unused credit, or pay IGST and get it refunded automatically once the shipping bill matches GSTR-1. The eight-digit code matters more here than in domestic trade: drawback and RoDTEP rates differ between, say, leather shoes for men (6403 59 10) and leather sandals (6403 99 10). Imported footwear pays basic customs duty and IGST at 5% or 18% depending on the assessable value per pair; the importer can claim the IGST as credit.

School shoes, uniforms and bulk orders

Schools and institutions often buy shoes in bulk through a vendor. The rate is still decided per pair: 500 pairs of school shoes at ₹650 each are at 5%, even though the order is ₹3.25 lakh. A supply to a government school above ₹2.5 lakh attracts TDS at 2% under Section 51, deducted by the school or department. Safety shoes bought by factories for workers follow the same price rule, and the factory can claim credit on them if they are provided as a statutory requirement under labour laws.

Selling footwear online

• Marketplaces deduct TCS at 0.5% of net taxable sales under Section 52. It appears in your cash ledger and can pay your GST.
• The ₹2,500 test is on the price you sell at on the platform after the discount you fund, not the strike-through MRP.
• Orders shipped to other states are IGST.
• Returns are adjusted through credit notes within the Section 34 time limit.

Reporting footwear in GSTR-1 and on e-way bills

Because the same heading can carry two rates, footwear sellers need to take care in the HSN summary (Table 12 of GSTR-1):

• Report each heading twice if you sold it at both rates: for example 6404 with the 5% value and tax, and 6404 again with the 18% value and tax. The portal accepts the same code with different rates on separate rows.
• Use the unit "PRS" (pairs) for footwear, not "NOS". The quantity then matches the per-pair test on your invoices.
• Show B2B and B2C sales on their separate tabs; the codes are picked from the portal's list.
• On an e-way bill for a mixed load, list each item line with its own code and rate as on the invoice. A single line for "footwear" at one rate does not match a mixed-rate invoice.

Composition scheme for small footwear shops

A footwear shop with turnover up to ₹1.5 crore (₹75 lakh in some special category states) can choose the composition scheme and pay 1% of turnover instead of 5% or 18% on each sale. The shop cannot charge GST to customers, issues a bill of supply, cannot claim credit on purchases and cannot sell to other states. For a shop selling mostly premium footwear above ₹2,500, where the normal rate is 18%, composition can be a real saving. For a shop selling mostly low-priced slippers at 5%, the saving is small, and the lost credit on purchases may cancel it out. Work out both before you opt in; you can opt in only at the start of a financial year.

Common mistakes in GST on footwear

Old 12% rate for shoes up to ₹1,000

Billing software not updated after September 2025 still charges 12%. It is now 5% up to ₹2,500.

Testing ₹2,500 on MRP

The limit is on the selling price per pair before tax. Testing on MRP charges 18% on pairs that should be at 5%.

Soles and uppers sold at 5%

Parts of footwear are 18%. A sole supplier charging 5% short-pays tax on every invoice.

Synthetic leather shoes under 6403

6403 needs a real leather upper. PU or PVC "leather" uppers with rubber soles go to 6402.

CGST and SGST on orders to another state

Online or phone orders delivered outside your state are IGST. Charging CGST and SGST by mistake means paying IGST again and then applying for a refund of the wrong tax, which takes months.

One code for the whole shop

Slippers, leather shoes and sports shoes are in three different headings. Set each category's code in the item master so the HSN summary in GSTR-1 is right.

Checklist before you bill footwear

1. Identify the upper and sole material of each design and fix its heading (6401 to 6405) in the item master once.
2. Set the rate as a price rule, not a fixed rate: 5% if the selling price per pair before tax is up to ₹2,500, 18% above.
3. Apply invoice discounts before the test, so a discounted pair drops to 5% automatically.
4. Keep parts separate: soles, uppers and insoles at 18% under 6406.
5. Check the buyer's state for CGST plus SGST or IGST.
6. Use PRS as the unit and report each heading at each rate in GSTR-1.

GST registration for footwear businesses

A footwear shop selling only goods must register once turnover crosses ₹40 lakh a year (₹20 lakh in some special category states). Online sellers and those selling to other states must register from the start, with limited exceptions. Small shops can opt for the composition scheme at 1% of turnover, but cannot claim credit or sell to other states. Our GST registration service handles the application, and our tax consultants help manufacturers with inverted duty refunds. Check related items in the HSN code for clothes guide, the HSN code finder or the GST rate finder.

Official sources: CBIC rate notifications (Notification 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate), Schedule I S. No. 392; Schedule II S. Nos. 202 to 207) · GST portal: Search HSN Code.