GST tax rate change for spectacles, goggles and contact lenses: What you'll pay from September 22

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has revised tax rates on spectacles and goggles. Spectacles, lenses and related items that were earlier taxed at 12% GST will now be taxed at 5% with effect from September 22.

The GST Council, headed by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Wednesday, September 3, gave thumbs up to a two-tier GST rate structure of 5% and 18%. The new rates will come into effect from September 22, 2025.

"This reform is not just on rationalising rates, it's also on structural reforms, ease of living, so that businesses can work together with great ease. We have corrected inverted duty structure problems, we have resolved classification related issues, and we have ensured there will be stability and predictability about the GST reforms," Sitharaman said.

What are the new rates?

The revisions in the tax rates of spectacles and goggles cover a wide range of vision-related products.

Corrective spectacles, including goggles used for correcting vision, have been shifted from the 12% slab to the lower 5% slab.

Commonly used medical aids such as contact lenses and spectacle lenses also move to 5% tax slab from an earlier 12% tax slab. Frames and mountings for spectacles, goggles or similar products, along with their parts, now fall under the same 5% category.

This revision in the tax rates is aimed at lowering the cost of essential eyewear products. Corrective spectacles, goggles meant for vision correction, spectacle lenses, contact lenses and frames together form the bulk of everyday vision aids. The shift from 12% to 5% GST ensures these items are now more affordable.

However, not all goggles fall under this changed taxation system. Goggles and spectacles that are not meant for correcting vision will continue to be taxed at 18% GST. This means, fashion-oriented goggles and spectacles which are outside of the scope of corrective eyewear, remain taxed at the higher rate.