GST on broking charges in India

Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

Goods and Services Tax (GST) at 18 percent is levied on the service charges associated with securities trading in India. At Zerodha, GST applies to three components: brokerage, exchange transaction charges, and the SEBI turnover fee. It does not apply to Securities Transaction Tax, stamp duty, or the IPFT levy, which are statutory taxes or trust levies, not service fees.

For most active traders, GST on broking charges is a meaningful cost component. On large trades where brokerage is Rs 20 and exchange charges might be Rs 5, GST adds Rs 4.50 to the total debit. On delivery trades where brokerage is zero, GST is charged only on the exchange charge and SEBI fee, reducing to approximately Rs 0.55 per Rs 1,00,000 of turnover.

Zerodha brokerage structure overview

Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

Zerodha operates a flat-fee brokerage model that departed from the percentage-of-turnover convention dominant among Indian brokers when the firm launched in 2010. Under this model, the brokerage component of a trade’s cost is either zero (for equity delivery) or capped at a flat Rs 20 per executed order across all other segments. The total amount debited from a client’s account, however, is substantially larger because several statutory levies – securities transaction tax, exchange transaction charges, GST, stamp duty, and the SEBI turnover fee – are collected on top of brokerage and remitted to the relevant governmental or regulatory authorities.

GST on WebNotes

GST on broking charges in India

Overview

Zerodha brokerage structure overview

Overview