GST on Courier Services in 2026: Rate, SAC Code, GTA vs Courier and E-commerce Delivery

Every online seller, exporter and office sends parcels and documents by courier, and every courier bill carries GST. The rate itself is simple, but the edges are not: when a courier is really a goods transport agency, who pays tax on a delivery booked through an app, what happens to a parcel sent abroad, and how small franchisees should register. This guide covers GST on courier services in 2026 for businesses that use couriers and for courier operators and franchisees, with the September 2025 changes, the 57th Council's October 2026 recommendations and worked rupee examples, checked against CBIC notifications in October 2026.

Quick answer

Courier services are taxed at 18% under heading 9968 (SAC 996812) — 9% CGST plus 9% SGST, or 18% IGST — with full input tax credit for the courier and its business customers. There is no reverse charge: the courier charges GST on its invoice. A courier agency is not a goods transport agency, so the GTA's 5% option does not apply. Since 22 September 2025, local delivery booked through an e-commerce platform by an unregistered delivery partner is taxed in the platform's hands under section 9(5).

• Same 18% for documents and parcels, domestic or international

• Speed post and parcels by India Post: 18%; post cards, inland letters, book post and light ordinary letters exempt

• Outbound international courier is an inter-state supply with IGST — not an export of service

• 57th Council (8 Oct 2026) recommended 5% without ITC for app-based delivery by unregistered persons

The GST rate and SAC code for courier services

Courier services sit in heading 9968, "postal and courier services", under serial 12 of Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate). When the GST Council rationalised rates from 22 September 2025, Notification 15/2025-CT(R) replaced serial 12 with four items, each at 9% central tax: postal services; courier services; local delivery services (whether supplied through an e-commerce operator by an unregistered person or otherwise); and other delivery services. The total rate, 18%, is what it was before — the substitution reorganised the entry to deal with app-based delivery rather than to change the rate.

There is no lower option and no condition on credit. A courier company claims input tax credit on its hubs, sorting equipment, delivery vans, packaging, software and line-haul services bought from airlines or transporters, and sets it off against its output tax. Customers registered under GST claim the courier's GST as credit if the shipment relates to their business, so for most businesses the tax is not a cost.

The same rate applies whether you send a document or a 20-kg carton, and whether the courier is a multinational, a national network or a city franchisee. What changes is who charges it and which component of GST appears, as the sections on place of supply and e-commerce explain.

Courier versus goods transport agency (GTA)

The single most common GST question about couriers is whether they are goods transport agencies. They are not, and the distinction matters because the rates and the payer differ.

A goods transport agency is, in the current definition, any person who provides service in relation to transport of goods by road and issues a consignment note, by whatever name called. Since 22 September 2025 the definition expressly excludes an e-commerce operator by whom or through whom local delivery is provided. A GTA charges 5% without ITC without credit — usually paid by a business recipient under reverse charge — or opts for 18% with ITC with full credit. Our GST on freight guide covers GTAs in detail.

A courier agency, defined in Notification 12/2017-CT(R), is any person engaged in the door-to-door transportation of time-sensitive documents, goods or articles, using the services of a person, directly or indirectly, to carry or accompany them. Its services are taxed at 18% under forward charge, whatever the mode — van, air, rail or bike.

Entry 18 of the exemption notification ties the two together. It exempts transport of goods by road, except the services of a goods transport agency or a courier agency. A single truck owner hired per trip without issuing a consignment note supplies exempt road transport; the same movement by a GTA or a courier is taxable. The practical test is the documentation and the nature of the contract: a lorry receipt and freight by truckload point to a GTA; a docket or airway bill for door-to-door, time-bound delivery points to a courier.

Courier, GTA and exempt road transport

Feature	Courier agency	Goods transport agency	Truck owner, no consignment note
Document issued	Docket / airway bill	Consignment note (LR)	None
Service	Door-to-door, time-sensitive	Road transport of goods	Road transport of goods
GST rate	18%	5% without ITC or 18% with ITC	Exempt (entry 18)
Who pays	Courier, on its invoice	Often recipient under reverse charge at 5%	Nobody
Credit for customer	Yes	Yes	Not applicable

Document issued

Courier agency

Docket / airway bill

Goods transport agency

Consignment note (LR)

Truck owner, no consignment note

None

Service

Courier agency

Door-to-door, time-sensitive

Goods transport agency

Road transport of goods

Truck owner, no consignment note

Road transport of goods

GST rate

Courier agency

18%

Goods transport agency

5% without ITC or 18% with ITC

Truck owner, no consignment note

Exempt (entry 18)

Who pays

Courier agency

Courier, on its invoice

Goods transport agency

Often recipient under reverse charge at 5%

Truck owner, no consignment note

Nobody

Credit for customer

Courier agency

Yes

Goods transport agency

Yes

Truck owner, no consignment note

Not applicable

Local delivery and e-commerce logistics

Before September 2025, a delivery partner registered on a quick-commerce or food-delivery platform, or a local delivery app, supplied "local delivery services" at 18%. Most riders and small delivery businesses were below the registration threshold, so no tax was collected on their part of the chain.

The 56th Council changed this. From 22 September 2025, Notification 17/2025-CT(R) added "services by way of local delivery" to the list of services on which the e-commerce operator pays tax under section 9(5) of the CGST Act, except where the person supplying through the platform is liable to register under section 22(1). Notification 16/2025 added an explanation to entry 18 so that local delivery by or through an e-commerce operator cannot claim the road-transport exemption, and both the rate and exemption notifications now say that an e-commerce operator providing local delivery is not a GTA. In effect, when an unregistered rider delivers through an app, the app pays 18% on the delivery charge. Where the delivery partner is registered or liable to register, the partner charges and pays the tax itself.

Courier services as such are not on the section 9(5) list. An online seller who books a shipment with a courier network through an aggregator platform receives a courier service from the courier company, which invoices 18%. The aggregator's own commission is a separate service at 18%. Marketplace sellers should also remember that the marketplace collects TCS at 0.5% (0.25% CGST + 0.25% SGST, or 0.5% IGST) on their sales, which is separate from the courier's GST; our TCS under GST guide explains it.

The 57th GST Council's recommendation on delivery

At its 57th meeting on 8 October 2026, the GST Council recommended a further change for app-based delivery, according to published summaries. Delivery services other than courier and postal, supplied through an e-commerce operator under section 9(5) by persons not liable to register, would attract 5% without ITC. Delivery services relating to goods supplied or ordered through an e-commerce operator would also attract 5% without credit, and the GTA exemption in entry 21A of Notification 12/2017 for transporting goods to unregistered persons would not apply to goods supplied or ordered through e-commerce operators.

These are recommendations. As of October 2026 no notification has been issued, so the 18% rate continues. Courier and postal services were expressly left out of the proposed 5% rate, so a conventional courier invoice will remain at 18% even if the change is notified. Platforms and logistics firms should watch the CBIC notifications page for the effective date and wording.

Place of supply: CGST + SGST or IGST?

Whether a courier bill shows CGST and SGST or IGST depends on the place of supply, set by section 12(8) of the IGST Act when both courier and customer are in India. If the customer is registered, the place of supply is the customer's registered location. If the customer is unregistered, it is the location where the goods are handed over for transport. So a Delhi-registered business booking a shipment with a courier's Delhi branch to Chennai pays CGST and SGST, while the same booking made by a Haryana-registered business with that Delhi branch is an inter-state supply with IGST. An individual walking into a Pune counter pays CGST and SGST in Maharashtra, wherever the parcel goes.

International courier. A proviso inserted from 1 February 2019 says that where the transportation of goods is to a place outside India, the place of supply is the destination of the goods. CBIC Circular 184/16/2022-GST confirms that in such cases — courier and customer both in India, parcel going abroad — the supply is inter-state, the courier charges IGST at 18%, and a registered customer can claim the IGST as input tax credit. Outbound courier booked and paid in India is therefore not an "export of service" and is not zero-rated, even though the goods it carries may be exported.

Inbound shipments. Customs duty and IGST on imported goods are collected at clearance, separately from the courier's own charges. Where an Indian consignee pays a courier in India for delivery or clearance services, those charges are taxable like any domestic courier service.

Is it a courier bill with 18% GST?

Step 1

Door-to-door, time-sensitive delivery by a courier agency?

yes → 18%, forward charge

Step 2

Road transport with a consignment note?

yes → GTA: 5% without ITC or 18% with ITC

Step 3

Local delivery via app by unregistered rider?

yes → platform pays under s.9(5)

Step 4

Basic India Post item (post card, inland letter, book post)?

yes → exempt

India Post: speed post, parcels and exempt mail

The Department of Posts is treated as a supplier like any other for most of its services. Speed post, registered parcels, business parcels and similar services attract 18%, which India Post charges on its receipt. Entry 24C of Notification 12/2017-CT(R) exempts services by the Department of Posts by way of post cards, inland letters, book post and ordinary post in envelopes weighing less than 10 grams. A business that sends large volumes of speed post can claim the GST as credit if it gives its GSTIN and receives a proper tax invoice.

Courier franchisees, booking agents and registration

Most courier networks expand through franchisees who book shipments, collect charges and deliver in their area. The commercial arrangements vary: some franchisees buy capacity and resell it in their own name; others act as agents and earn a commission from the franchisor. Either way, the franchisee supplies a service — courier service to the customer, or a commission service to the franchisor — taxed at 18% or 18% respectively. The franchise fee or royalty the franchisee pays for using the brand is a separate taxable supply by the franchisor.

Registration follows the service threshold: ₹20 lakh of aggregate turnover, or ₹10 lakh in the special category states that use the lower limit. A franchisee that makes inter-state supplies of taxable services is not compelled to register on that ground alone below the threshold, but any business that wants to issue tax invoices to corporate clients will need a GSTIN in practice. A small franchisee with turnover up to ₹50 lakh and no inter-state outward supplies can choose the composition scheme for services at 6%, giving up input tax credit and the right to charge GST on invoices. Because corporate customers want credit, composition rarely suits a franchisee with business clients.

E-way bills for courier shipments

An e-way bill is needed when goods worth more than ₹50,000 move in a vehicle, and the obligation is the consignor's. Rule 138 of the CGST Rules allows an e-way bill to be generated by the e-commerce operator or the courier agency where goods are sent through them, if the consignor authorises it. In practice, courier networks ask senders of high-value parcels for an invoice and either an e-way bill number or authority to generate one. Documents and low-value parcels below the threshold need no e-way bill, and Chapter 71 goods such as jewellery are generally exempt except where a state rule requires otherwise. Our e-way bill guide covers the details.

Worked examples in rupees

An online seller in Jaipur. The seller, registered in Rajasthan, ships 2,000 orders a month through a courier network's Jaipur hub at an average of ₹80 a parcel. The monthly courier bill is ₹1,60,000 plus 18% GST of ₹28,800 — ₹14,400 CGST and ₹14,400 SGST, because the seller is registered in Rajasthan. The seller claims ₹28,800 as credit, so its net cost is ₹1,60,000.

A Gurugram exporter's samples. A Haryana-registered company sends product samples to Germany by international courier booked with a Delhi office, at ₹12,000. The place of supply is the foreign destination, so the courier charges IGST at 18%: ₹2,160. The company claims it as credit in the usual way under Circular 184/16/2022.

An individual's parcel. A student in Kolkata sends a ₹500 parcel to Bengaluru at a franchise counter. The student is unregistered, so the place of supply is where the parcel is handed over — West Bengal. The bill shows ₹45 CGST and ₹45 SGST, ₹590 in all.

A quick-commerce delivery. A customer pays a ₹30 delivery fee on a grocery app; the rider is not liable to register. The app, as e-commerce operator, pays 18% on the delivery charge under section 9(5) — about ₹4.58 if the ₹30 includes tax (₹30 × 18/118). If the 57th Council's recommendation is notified, this would fall to about ₹1.43 at 5%.

Work out GST on a courier bill

Sales (Add GST)Purchase (Remove GST)Price Comparison

AmountGST Rate

0%3% (Gold / silver)5%18% (Standard)40% (Sin / luxury)

Transaction Type

Intra-state (CGST + SGST)Inter-state (IGST)

Base Amount (Before GST)₹1,60,000.00

CGST (9%)₹14,400.00

SGST (9%)₹14,400.00

Total GST (18%)₹28,800.00

Total Amount (Including GST)₹1,88,800.00

Open the full GST Calculator (PDF, save, compare)

Common mistakes and how they are fixed

Paying reverse charge on courier bills. Some businesses treat couriers like GTAs and pay 5% under reverse charge. That is wrong; the courier charges 18% and the business claims it. Tax paid under reverse charge in error can be claimed back as a refund, subject to the time limit, once the correct position is applied.

Billing a GTA's freight as courier, or the reverse. A transporter issuing lorry receipts for truckloads is a GTA, not a courier, even if it calls itself an express service. Check the documents before you book the credit or apply reverse charge.

Treating international courier as zero-rated. Outbound courier booked in India is an inter-state supply with IGST. A courier that issues it without tax under a letter of undertaking is under-charging.

Missing the GSTIN on the booking. If the business does not give its GSTIN, the courier treats it as unregistered, the place of supply shifts to the booking point, and the invoice may not support credit. Register your GSTIN with every courier account.

Courier GST checklist for businesses

0/6

• GSTIN registered with every courier account
• Monthly courier invoices at 18%, matched to GSTR-2B
• No reverse charge booked on courier invoices
• International courier invoices showing IGST
• E-way bills or authorisation for parcels above ₹50,000
• GTA lorry receipts kept separate from courier dockets

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Official links

• Notifications 15, 16 and 17/2025-CT(R)Serial 12 courier and local delivery; GTA definition; section 9(5)
• Circular 184/16/2022-GSTInternational courier — place of supply and credit
• 56th GST Council press releaseLocal delivery changes
• CBIC — central tax (rate) notificationsWatch for 57th Council notifications

What to do next

Check that every courier account has your GSTIN, that courier invoices show 18% under forward charge and match GSTR-2B, and that GTA freight is booked separately. If you run deliveries through an app, map whether your partners are registered so that the right party pays. Our GST on transport services guide covers passenger transport, the freight guide covers GTAs, and the logistics business guide explains how to set up a courier or 3PL operation. Use the GST calculator to check any bill.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

What is the GST rate on courier services?

Courier services are taxed at 18% — 9% CGST plus 9% SGST within a state, or 18% IGST between states — under serial 12 of Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate), heading 9968, as substituted by Notification 15/2025 from 22 September 2025. The rate did not change with GST 2.0. The courier company charges the tax on its invoice and the business customer can claim it as input tax credit.

Is a courier company a goods transport agency under GST?

No. A goods transport agency is a road transporter that issues a consignment note, and its services are taxed at 5% without ITC (often under reverse charge) or 18% with ITC by choice. A courier agency is defined separately as a person engaged in door-to-door transportation of time-sensitive documents, goods or articles, and is always taxed at 18% under forward charge. The two definitions do not overlap.

Is reverse charge applicable on courier services?

No. Courier services are not on the reverse-charge list in Notification 13/2017-Central Tax (Rate), so the courier company pays the tax and shows it on its invoice. The only shift of liability in this area is for local delivery booked through an e-commerce platform by a delivery partner who is not liable to register; there the platform pays the tax under section 9(5).

What is the SAC code for courier services?

Courier services fall under SAC 996812 within heading 9968, postal and courier services. Local delivery services are 996813, postal services 996811 and other delivery services 996819. All carry the same 18% rate, except basic postal items such as post cards, inland letters, book post and ordinary letters under 10 grams sent by India Post, which are exempt.

Is GST charged on international courier from India?

Yes, when the sender in India pays. Under the proviso to section 12(8) of the IGST Act, the place of supply for transporting goods to a place outside India is the foreign destination, so the courier charges 18% IGST as an inter-state supply. CBIC Circular 184/16/2022-GST confirms that a registered sender can claim this as input tax credit.

Do small courier franchisees need GST registration?

A courier franchisee or booking agent supplies services, so it must register once its aggregate turnover crosses ₹20 lakh (₹10 lakh in some special category states). Below that, it need not register. Many franchisors require a GSTIN anyway, and a franchisee with turnover up to ₹50 lakh that makes no inter-state supplies can opt for the composition scheme for services.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 11 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Notification No. 15/2025–Central Tax (Rate), 16/2025–Central Tax (Rate) and 17/2025–Central Tax (Rate), Gazette of India, 17 September 2025 — Ministry of Finance (Gazette of India) · accessed 11 October 2026
2. 2.Notification No. 12/2017–State Tax (Rate), consolidated as amended (Telangana Commercial Taxes Department) — Commercial Taxes Department, Government of Telangana · accessed 11 October 2026
3. 3.Notification No. 11/2017–State Tax (Rate), consolidated as amended (Telangana Commercial Taxes Department) — Commercial Taxes Department, Government of Telangana · accessed 11 October 2026
4. 4.Circular No. 184/16/2022-GST, 27 December 2022 — CBIC (GST Council website) · accessed 11 October 2026
5. 5.56th GST Council press release — services rate changes (September 2025) — GST Council · accessed 11 October 2026
6. 6.Indirect Tax Alert — Recommendations of the 57th GST Council meeting (9 October 2026) — BDO India · accessed 11 October 2026
7. 7.GST Council Recommends 5% GST Without ITC on Delivery Services Through E-Commerce Platforms — Taxscan · accessed 11 October 2026