The HSN code and GST rate on hand gloves depend on how the gloves are used, not what they’re made of. All gloves of vulcanised rubber — nitrile, latex, surgical, examination — sit under HSN heading 4015. What changes the tax is the end-use application. Surgical gloves used as a medical device fall under HSN 4015 11 00 and attract 5% GST. Gloves used industrially — in pharmaceutical manufacturing, food and beverage handling, automotive assembly — fall under the “other” code HSN 4015 90 30 and attract 18% GST.
So two identical boxes of nitrile gloves can carry different GST rates depending on the buyer’s use. That is why suppliers invoice 18% by default and apply the 5% medical rate only when the customer can document medical end-use.
Why the code depends on the application, not the glove
HSN (Harmonised System of Nomenclature) codes classify goods for GST and customs. For rubber gloves, the heading is fixed — 4015, under Chapter 40 (rubber and articles thereof). The split happens at the sub-heading, and it turns on purpose:
- Medical / surgical use (the glove is a medical device worn for surgery or patient examination) → 4015 11 00.
- Industrial / general use (the glove protects a process or product — pharma manufacturing, food handling, automotive, electronics) → 4015 90 30(“other”).
The material is the same. The classification — and the tax — follows the declared use.
GST rate on hand gloves in 2026
India’s GST 2.0 reform (effective 22 September 2025) cut GST on medical devices, including surgical and examination gloves used as medical devices, from 12% to 5%. The rate for non-medical (industrial) rubber gloves did not change — it remains 18%.
| End use of the glove | HSN | GST rate (from Sep 2025) | Earlier rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial / general (pharma manufacturing, food, automotive) — our default | 4015 90 30 | 18% | 18% |
| Medical / surgical device (surgery, patient examination) | 4015 11 00 | 5% | 12% |
How invoicing works in practice
Because the rate follows the application, the responsibility sits with the buyer to declare medical end-use. In practice:
- We invoice at 18% as the default for industrial supply.
- If a customer can show proof that the gloves will be used for medical purposes, we invoice at the 5% medical rate.
- Getting this right keeps your input tax credit clean and avoids reconciliation queries later.
This matters most for buyers who straddle both worlds — a pharmaceutical company, for example, uses gloves for manufacturing (industrial, 18%) that look identical to gloves used as a medical device. The tax depends on the documented use, not the box.
HSN by glove type
The heading is 4015 for every rubber glove; the sub-heading and rate follow the use above.
| Glove / use | HSN code | GST |
|---|---|---|
| Surgical gloves (medical device) | 4015 11 00 | 5% |
| Nitrile gloves — industrial / general use | 4015 90 30 | 18% |
| Latex gloves — industrial / general use | 4015 90 30 | 18% |
| Examination gloves — industrial / general use | 4015 90 30 | 18% |
| Industrial / household rubber gloves | 4015 90 30 | 18% |
All rubber gloves share heading 4015; the 8-digit code and rate follow the end-use — 4015 11 00 for surgical/medical (5%), 4015 90 30 for industrial/general (18%). Only rubber gloves sit under 4015 — knitted, cotton, or coated-textile gloves are classified under Chapter 61, at their own rates, a common filing error.
What this means for procurement
- State the HSN code and correct GST rate (18% industrial by default) on every tax invoice.
- For medical end-use, keep documentation to support the 5% rate.
- When you source from a manufacturer, the HSN and GST should already be correct on the paperwork. PharmShield supplies industrial- and examination-grade nitrile gloves and examination gloves with audit-ready documentation for pharmaceutical and food & beverage buyers.
Need correctly documented gloves in bulk for your facility? Request a quote and spec sheet.