HSN code 9021 is the Customs Tariff heading for orthopaedic appliances, including crutches, surgical belts and trusses, splints and other fracture appliances, artificial parts of the body, hearing aids and other appliances which are worn or carried, or implanted in the body, to compensate for a defect or disability, in Chapter 90 (Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof). Goods of this heading are taxed at nil or 5%, depending on the exact description: 2 rate entries name this heading. Rates are from 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) or 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate), as amended, as of 2026-10-21.
GST rate entries for HSN 9021
These are the entries of the current GST rate notifications whose column (2) names heading 9021 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9021 | Orthopaedic appliances, such as crutches, surgical belts, and trusses; Splints and other fracture appliances; artificial parts of the body; other appliances which are worn or carried, or implanted in the body, to compensate for a defect or disability; intraocular lens [other than hearing aids] | 5% | 9/2025-CT(R), Schedule I, S. No. 486 |
| 9021 | Hearing aids | Nil (0%) | 10/2025-CT(R), S. No. 160 |
Goods of heading 9021 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.
Chapter 90 entries that can also apply
These entries name the whole of Chapter 90 in column (2), so they reach every heading of the chapter, including 9021, but only for goods that match their description.
| HSN scope | Description of goods | GST | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | Coronary stents and coronary stent systems for use with cardiac catheters | 5% | 9/2025-CT(R), Schedule I, S. No. 473 |
| 90 or any other Chapter | Artificial kidney | 5% | 9/2025-CT(R), Schedule I, S. No. 474 |
| 90 or any other Chapter | Blood glucose monitoring system (Glucometer) and test strips | 5% | 9/2025-CT(R), Schedule I, S. No. 475 |
| 90 or any other Chapter | Patent Ductus Arteriosus / Atrial Septal Defect occlusion device | 5% | 9/2025-CT(R), Schedule I, S. No. 476 |
| 90 or any other Chapter | Parts of the following goods, namely: - (i) Crutches; (ii) Wheel chairs; (iii)Walking frames; (iv)Tricycles; (v)Braillers; and (vi) Artificial limbs | 5% | 9/2025-CT(R), Schedule I, S. No. 477 |
| 90 or any other Chapter | Assistive devices, rehabilitation aids and other goods for disabled, specified in List 1 appended to this Schedule | 5% | 9/2025-CT(R), Schedule I, S. No. 478 |
| 90 or 84 | Disposable sterilized dialyzer or micro barrier of artificial kidney | 5% | 9/2025-CT(R), Schedule I, S. No. 479 |
CGST, SGST and IGST split for HSN 9021
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nil (0%) | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 5% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 5% |
Worked example: a ₹1,000 sale under HSN 9021
- At nil rate: taxable value ₹1,000.00, no CGST, SGST or IGST, invoice total ₹1,000.00.
- 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.
Choosing the right entry under 9021
Heading 9021 carries 2 different rates, so the 4-digit code alone does not tell you the tax. Read the description in column (3) of each entry against your goods, and where an entry names a sub-heading or tariff item (6 or 8 digits), compare your goods' full code. The more specific description wins over a general one under the rules of interpretation that the notification applies.
Billing nil-rated goods of HSN 9021
Entries in Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate) exempt the goods from the whole of the central tax, and the matching state and integrated tax notifications do the same. A registered supplier of only such goods issues a bill of supply instead of a tax invoice. Input tax credit on inputs and services used for these supplies is not available, so a business that sells both taxable and nil-rated goods has to split its credit between them.
How to write HSN 9021 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 (9021) 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, which matters for 9021 because its rate changes with the description.
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 90
Chapter 90 of the Customs Tariff is Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof. This list has 32 of its headings, each with its own page. See all Chapter 90 headings.
- HSN 9001: Optical fibres (5% or 18%)
- HSN 9002: Lenses, prisms (18%)
- HSN 9003: Frames and mountings for spectacles (5%)
- HSN 9004: Spectacles, goggles and the like (5% or 18%)
- HSN 9005: Binoculars, monoculars (18%)
- HSN 9006: Photographic (other (18%)
- HSN 9007: Cinematographic cameras (18%)
- HSN 9008: Image projectors (18%)
- HSN 9010: Apparatus and equipment (18%)
- HSN 9011: Compound optical microscopes (18%)
- HSN 9012: Microscopes (18%)
- HSN 9013: Lasers, other than laser diodes (18%)