HSN code 0508 is the Customs Tariff heading for coral and similar materials, unworked or simply prepared but not otherwise worked; shells of molluscs, crustaceans or echinoderms and cuttle-bone, unworked or simply prepared but not cut to shape, powder and waste thereof, in Chapter 5 (Products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included). The GST rate is 5%: 2.5% CGST + 2.5% SGST within a state, or 5% IGST to another state. Rates are from 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate), as amended, as of 2026-10-21.
GST rate entries for HSN 0508
These are the entries of the current GST rate notifications whose column (2) names heading 0508 or one of its sub-headings or tariff items. The description is the notification's own wording; the goods must match it for the rate to apply.
| HSN scope | Description of goods (notification wording) | GST | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0508 | Coral and similar materials, unworked or simply prepared but not otherwise worked; shells of molluscs, crustaceans or echinoderms and cuttle-bone, unworked or simply prepared but not cut to shape, powder and waste thereof. | 5% | 9/2025-CT(R), Schedule I, S. No. 16 |
Goods of heading 0508 that do not match any description above fall under the residual entry, Schedule II S. No. 639 ("Goods which are not specified in Schedule I, III, IV, V, VI or VII"), at 18%, unless an "Any Chapter" entry or the nil-rated list of Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate) covers them by description.
CGST, SGST and IGST split for HSN 0508
The rate notifications fix the central tax (CGST). State tax (SGST, or UTGST in a Union territory without a legislature) is levied at the same rate under the matching state notifications, and IGST on an inter-State supply equals the two together.
| Total GST | CGST | SGST / UTGST | IGST |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 5% |
Worked example: a ₹1,000 sale under HSN 0508
- At 5%: taxable value ₹1,000.00. Within your state, CGST ₹25.00 + SGST ₹25.00 = ₹50.00, invoice total ₹1,050.00. To a buyer in another state, IGST ₹50.00, the same total.
For any other amount, the GST calculator gives the same split, and works backwards from a tax-inclusive price.
How to write HSN 0508 on an invoice
Notification 78/2020-Central Tax sets the number of HSN digits on a tax invoice by the aggregate turnover of the previous financial year. Up to ₹5 crore, print at least 4 digits (0508) on invoices to registered buyers; HSN may be left off invoices to unregistered buyers. Above ₹5 crore, print 6 digits on every tax invoice. Many sellers print the full 8-digit tariff item anyway, because it matches the shipping bill for exports and shows which entry you used.
Charge CGST and SGST when the buyer is in your state and IGST when the place of supply is another state. The invoice also needs your GSTIN, the buyer's GSTIN for B2B sales, the invoice number and date, the quantity, the taxable value and the tax at each rate. The HSN-wise summary in GSTR-1 is built from the same codes, so set the code once per item in your billing software. Make a one-off bill with the free GST invoice generator, or bill every day in FundRaksha Book, which stores the HSN and rate on each item and splits the tax for you.
Other headings in Chapter 5
Chapter 5 of the Customs Tariff is Products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included. This list has 9 of its headings, each with its own page. See all Chapter 5 headings.
- HSN 0501: Human hair, unworked (nil)
- HSN 0502: Pigs', hogs' or boars' bristles (5%)
- HSN 0504: Guts, bladders and stomachs (nil or 5%)
- HSN 0505: Skins and other parts of birds (5%)
- HSN 0506: Bones and horn-cores, unworked (nil)
- HSN 0507: Ivory, tortoise-shell (nil or 5%)
- HSN 0510: Ambergris, castoreum, civet and musk (5%)
- HSN 0511: Animal products (nil or 5%)