HSN Code for Automobile Spare Parts

Automobile spare parts are classified under heading 8708 — parts and accessories of motor vehicles — and two-wheeler and bicycle parts under 8714. That answer covers bumpers, brakes, gearboxes, clutches and silencers. It does not cover the engine, the filters, the bearings, the battery, the spark plugs, the headlamps, the tyres or the speedometer. Each of those has its own heading elsewhere in the tariff, and the rule that sends them there is Note 2 to Section XVII. A parts shop that codes everything as 8708 has most of its catalogue wrong.

Two places an auto part can land

Vehicles sit in Section XVII of the Customs Tariff, which runs from Chapter 86 (railway) through Chapter 87 (road vehicles) to Chapters 88 and 89 (aircraft and ships). Chapter 87 carries two parts headings of its own: 8708 for the vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705, and 8714 for motorcycles, bicycles and invalid carriages. If you have not yet worked with how chapters, headings and subheadings nest, start with our overview of how HSN codes work.

Every part you stock gets two questions. First: does it have its own heading anywhere in the tariff, or is it excluded from Chapter 87 by Section XVII Note 2? If yes, that heading applies, regardless of the vehicle it fits. Second, only if the answer is no: is it suitable for use solely or principally with a motor vehicle? If yes, it goes to 8708 or 8714. Most coding errors come from asking the second question first.

Heading 8708: parts and accessories of motor vehicles

Heading 8708 is split into six-digit subheadings by vehicle system. These are the subheadings that come up most often in a car or commercial-vehicle parts catalogue.

Two details matter here. Radiators are the one Chapter 84-style item that stays in Chapter 87 — Note 2 specifically carves them back in. And 8708 99 is a residual bucket, so use it only after you have checked that none of the named subheadings fits. Chassis fitted with engines (8706) and complete vehicle bodies (8707) have their own headings too, so they are not 8708 either.

Section XVII Note 2: the parts that leave Chapter 87

Note 2 to Section XVII lists goods that do not count as "parts" or "parts and accessories" for Chapter 87, even when they are made for vehicles. The main exclusions are:

• Machines of headings 8401 to 8479 and their parts (except radiators): engines (8407 petrol, 8408 diesel), engine parts (8409), pumps (8413), compressors (8414) and filters (8421).
• Valves and bearings of 8481 and 8482, and transmission shafts, crankshafts and camshafts of 8483 where they are integral parts of an engine.
• Electrical machinery and equipment of Chapter 85: batteries (8507), ignition and starting equipment such as spark plugs, starter motors and alternators (8511), and lighting, signalling, horns and wipers (8512).
• Instruments of Chapter 90, including speedometers and tachometers (9029).
• Parts of general use in base metal or plastic, such as bolts and nuts (7318), springs (7320) and locks (8301), and rubber gaskets and washers of 4016.
• Hand tools of Chapter 82, such as the jack spanner in the boot kit.

Tyres, tubes, seats and glass leave through a different route: their own headings describe them more specifically than "parts of motor vehicles" does. Tyres are 4011, tubes 4013, vehicle seats 9401, toughened or laminated safety glass 7007 and rear-view mirrors 7009.

Common parts and where they are classified

This table maps the parts most spare-parts dealers stock to their four-digit heading. Confirm the six and eight digit subheadings in the tariff itself. Our guide on how to search for an HSN code walks through that process.

Look at the pattern in the Chapter 85 rows. Headlamp assemblies are 8512, but replacement bulbs sold loose are lamps under 8539. The same product family can split across headings depending on what you actually sell. Our guide to HSN codes for electrical items covers 8507, 8511 and 8539 in more depth, and the hardware items guide covers the bolts, nuts and fasteners that sit in the base-metal chapters.

Two-wheeler and bicycle parts: heading 8714

Heading 8714 covers parts and accessories of the vehicles in headings 8711 to 8713: motorcycles (including mopeds and scooters), bicycles and carriages for disabled persons. Subheading 8714 10 is for motorcycle parts, and the 8714 9x subheadings are for bicycle parts such as frames, forks, rims, hubs, brakes, pedals and saddles.

Section XVII Note 2 applies to 8714 in exactly the same way. A two-wheeler engine is 8407, its pistons are 8409, its spark plug is 8511, its headlamp is 8512, its battery is 8507 and its tyres are 4011. Only the parts left over — body panels, handlebars, frames, chain guards, brake assemblies and the like — belong in 8714. Dealers who stock both car and two-wheeler parts should keep 8708 and 8714 as separate lines in the item master, because the parent vehicle decides the heading.

GST rates on auto parts after September 2025

Before the reform, most parts under 8708 were in the 28% slab. The rationalisation that took effect on 22 September 2025 moved most goods into two main slabs, 5% and 18%, and roughly 90% of items that were previously at 28% moved to 18%. Our explainer on the 2026 GST rate slabs sets out how the structure changed.

We do not give a single rate for "auto parts" here, and you should not use one in your billing software. Because Note 2 spreads a parts catalogue across Chapters 40, 70, 83, 84, 85, 90 and 94, the rate follows the heading, not the fact that the part fits a car. After refreshing your rate master, check each heading you stock against the CBIC GST rate finder at cbic-gst.gov.in. This is also where item masters built before the reform tend to hold stale 28% lines. The HSN code list with GST rates shows how the chapters are organised.

The number of digits you report on invoices depends on your turnover in the preceding year: four digits at or below ₹5 crore for B2B invoices, six digits above it. Our guide to HSN digit rules by turnover covers the detail. Distributors selling to garages and dealers on credit should also confirm that the buyer's GSTIN is active before invoicing. Verifying a customer GSTIN before B2B invoicing explains the check. Our GSTIN verification API returns registration status and GSTR filing history in one call, at ₹0.50 per verification.

Garage invoices: parts, labour and SAC 9987

A garage or authorised service centre supplies two things: the parts it fits and the repair work. The parts are goods and take their HSN codes as above. The labour is a service under SAC group 9987 (maintenance, repair and installation services, other than construction). Confirm the exact six-digit SAC for motor vehicle repair in the current SAC list.

The GST question is whether the job is one supply or two. Under Section 2(30), a composite supply is two or more naturally bundled supplies, one of which is the principal supply, and the whole is taxed at the principal supply's rate. Under Section 2(74), a mixed supply is two or more individual supplies sold together for a single price when they are not naturally bundled, and the whole is taxed at the highest applicable rate. Where the parts and labour are separately itemised and separately priced on the job card and invoice, as is normal practice, garages generally treat them as separate supplies, each at its own rate.

On the buyer's side, input tax credit on repairs and parts for passenger vehicles is often blocked by Section 17(5), with specific exceptions. Our explainer on blocked credits under Section 17(5) covers when a business can and cannot claim it.

Frequently asked questions