GST on CCTV Cameras in India: HSN Code, Rate and Depreciation

What is the GST rate on CCTV cameras in India?

CCTV cameras are taxed at 18% GST in India. They fall under HSN heading 8525, which the goods rate notification describes as "Closed-circuit television (CCTV)", and that entry sits in the 18% schedule. DVRs, NVRs, hard disks and CCTV cable are also at 18%, and installation billed as a separate service is generally 18% under SAC 9987.

This guide is for shops, offices, schools and clinics that buy cameras, and for installers who sell them. It covers codes, tax and depreciation only. For what a setup costs, read our CCTV installation cost guide; for where cameras may and may not point, see our guide to CCTV rules in India.

Which HSN codes apply to CCTV cameras, DVRs, NVRs, hard disks and cables?

Each item on a CCTV bill takes the rate of its own HSN heading, and for the usual parts of a camera system that rate is 18%. The table lists only entries we checked in Notification 9/2025-Integrated Tax (Rate), dated 17 September 2025 and in force from 22 September 2025, and in the GST Council’s PIB press release of 3 September 2025.

The IGST rate applies to supplies between states. Within a state, the same 18% is split into 9% CGST and 9% SGST. Hard disks are usually classified as storage units under 8471; if your supplier uses another code, ask your CA which is right.

Did the 22 September 2025 GST change cut the rate on CCTV?

No. CCTV cameras, recorders and cable stayed at 18%; the item in a typical setup that came down was the monitor. The PIB release lists monitors and projectors under heading 8528 in its consumer electronics group moved from 28% to 18%. CCTV under 8525 is not in any of its rate-cut lists.

• Old quotes: if a quote dated before 22 September 2025 showed 28% on a large display, the bill should now show 18% for that line.
• Monitor or TV: a television and a monitor are both in the same 8528 entry, so the rate is the same.
• Camera kits: a kit of cameras, a recorder and cable sold for one price is taxed either as a composite supply (at the rate of its principal item) or as a mixed supply (at the highest rate among its items). Since these items are all at 18%, the result is usually 18% either way.

What is the GST and SAC code on CCTV installation service?

Installation billed on its own is generally classified under SAC heading 9987, "maintenance, repair and installation (except construction) services", at 18% (9% CGST plus 9% SGST). That is the rate set in Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate), serial number 25, and the 2025 services amendment did not change that entry.

Whether you need the SAC at all depends on how the work is sold. Under Section 8 of the CGST Act, a composite supply is taxed as its principal supply. When an installer supplies cameras and fits them as one job, the cameras are usually the principal supply, so the whole job takes the goods rate.

• Cameras plus fitting on one bill: usually a composite supply of goods at the camera rate.
• Fitting only, customer’s own cameras: a service under SAC 9987.
• Annual maintenance contract or repairs: also generally SAC 9987.
• Cameras inside a larger building or electrical contract: the work may be treated as a works contract under construction heading 9954. Confirm the HSN/SAC and rate with your CA.

How do you calculate GST on a CCTV bill?

Multiply the taxable value by 18% and add it on; if a quote already includes GST, divide it by 118 and multiply by 18 to find the tax. Here is a worked example in plain units.

1. Taxable value: on a bill of 100 for cameras, a DVR, a hard disk and cable, GST at 18% is 18, and the total is 118.
2. Split by state: from an installer in your state, that is 9 CGST and 9 SGST; from another state, 18 IGST.
3. Separate fitting line: if 80 of the 100 is equipment and 20 is fitting, both lines are at 18%, so the tax is 14.4 plus 3.6, still 18.
4. Inclusive quote: if the quote is 118 including GST, the tax is 118 × 18 ÷ 118, which is 18, and the taxable value is 100.
5. Input tax credit: a registered business using the cameras for its business can usually claim the 18 as credit, subject to the conditions in Section 16 of the CGST Act. A household cannot.

What is the depreciation rate on CCTV cameras?

For income tax, CCTV cameras and recorders are usually depreciated as general plant and machinery at 15% on written-down value. Under the Companies Act, Schedule II gives useful lives, not rates, and there is no separate CCTV entry, so your auditor picks the closest class. Treat the figures below as a starting point for that discussion.

On a cost of 100 put to use for 180 days or more in the year, the 15% income-tax rate gives 15 in the first year and 12.75 in the second (15% of the remaining 85). If the cameras are put to use for less than 180 days in the year of purchase, only half the rate is allowed that year. Under the Companies Act, a 10-year life with a residual value of 5 gives a straight-line charge of 9.5 a year.

From 1 April 2026, the Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act, and commentators report the same block rates carried into the new rules. Check the current schedule with your CA before you file, especially if the cameras are part of a larger electrical fit-out, which some firms place in the 10% furniture and fittings block.

What should you check on a CCTV invoice?

Check that every line has its own HSN or SAC, the right rate and the right tax split, because a wrong code on a supplier’s bill becomes your problem when credit is checked. Use this list for offices in Udyog Vihar or shops on Sohna Road alike.

• Cameras under 8525 and recorders under 8521, not one line saying "CCTV items".
• Hard disk, cable, switch and monitor on separate lines with their codes.
• Installation shown as part of the supply, or as a separate SAC 9987 line, consistently with the quote.
• CGST and SGST for a supplier in your state, IGST for one outside it.
• The supplier’s GSTIN and yours, if you want to claim credit.
• Camera count and type matching what was fitted, for example IP or analog; our guide to IP vs analog cameras explains the difference.

How DVM Techno Can Help

DVM Techno is a software company in Gurgaon with a local office in Kasni, Jhajjar, where we also handle CCTV camera installation. If you already have IP cameras, DVM VigiCore records and plays them back on a Windows PC, and the free download works with up to 4 cameras. Footage stays in your building. Tax treatment of your purchase is for your CA to decide.

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