Zerodha commodity brokerage and charges (MCX)

Zerodha is a SEBI-registered stockbroker (registration INZ000031633) and a member of the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), where it charges the lower of 0.03 per cent or Rs 20 per executed order on commodity futures and a flat Rs 20 per executed order on commodity options, as of 19 June 2026. Commodity trades carry their own statutory stack: the commodities transaction tax (CTT), MCX transaction charges, the SEBI turnover fee, GST, and stamp duty, none of which Zerodha sets.

This article covers what a Zerodha client pays to trade commodities on MCX: the brokerage by instrument, how CTT works and where it differs from securities transaction tax, the MCX transaction charges, the full statutory stack, and a worked cost example on a gold futures position. Every figure carries its as-of date and its source. The companion articles on F&O futures brokerage and F&O options brokerage cover the equity-derivative side; this one is the commodity counterpart.

Commodity statutory rates change with each Finance Act and with MCX tariff revisions. The rates below are current as of 19 June 2026. Verify any figure against zerodha.com/charges before acting on it.

What trades on MCX

The Multi Commodity Exchange lists futures and options on non-agricultural and agricultural commodities. The non-agricultural set, which carries CTT, includes bullion (gold, gold mini, gold petal, silver, silver mini, silver micro), energy (crude oil , natural gas), and base metals (copper, aluminium, zinc, lead, nickel). The agricultural set, which is exempt from CTT, includes cardamom, cotton, and mentha oil among others. Gold futures and crude oil futures are the highest-volume contracts by client participation. The instrument and contract specifications sit in the Multi Commodity Exchange entry and the broader commodity trading overview.

A commodity futures contract obliges the buyer and seller to transact the underlying at a set price on the expiry date, though most positions are squared off before expiry or settled in cash. Commodity options on MCX are options on the corresponding futures contract, so exercising an in-the-money commodity option delivers a futures position, not the physical commodity, in most retail cases.

Brokerage by instrument

Brokerage is the one charge Zerodha sets and keeps. For commodities on MCX, as of 19 June 2026 (zerodha.com/charges):

The charge is per executed order, not per lot. A single order for five lots of gold futures carries one Rs 20 brokerage, not five. On a large-value contract such as a full gold futures lot, the 0.03 per cent slab almost never binds because 0.03 per cent of a multi-lakh contract exceeds Rs 20, so the Rs 20 cap applies in practice. On a low-value contract such as a single gold petal lot, 0.03 per cent can fall below Rs 20, in which case the percentage applies. Commodities are not a zero-brokerage segment; only equity delivery is. A round trip in a single gold futures lot therefore carries Rs 40 of brokerage (Rs 20 each way) before any statutory charge.

Commodities transaction tax (CTT)

CTT is the commodity analogue of securities transaction tax . It was introduced by the Finance Act 2013, effective 1 July 2013, and applies only to non-agricultural commodity derivatives on recognised commodity exchanges. As of 19 June 2026 (zerodha.com/charges):

CTT differs from STT in three ways that matter to a trader. First, it applies only to commodity derivatives, where STT applies to securities. Second, the rates are lower than the current equity-derivative STT rates: equity futures STT is 0.05 per cent on the sell side and equity options STT is 0.15 per cent of premium as of 19 June 2026, against CTT of 0.01 per cent on commodity futures and 0.05 per cent on commodity options. Third, CTT carves out agriculture entirely, so cardamom or cotton futures carry no transaction tax, where every equity trade carries STT. The shared treatment of STT and CTT, including the income-tax deduction available to traders under Section 36(1)(xv) of the Income Tax Act 1961, is in STT and CTT on Zerodha trades , and the commodity-specific detail in commodity transaction tax .

Like STT, CTT is charged on the sell side only for futures and on the sell side for options, and it is collected by the exchange at the point of settlement rather than billed separately by Zerodha. It is a statutory pass-through; Zerodha sets none of it.

MCX transaction charges

MCX levies a transaction charge on every trade it clears, which Zerodha passes through at the exchange rate. As of 19 June 2026 (zerodha.com/charges):

The futures rate of 0.0021 per cent is higher than the NSE equity-cash rate of 0.00307 per cent in name only; the bases differ, so the absolute charge depends on contract value. On a gold futures lot worth Rs 7,00,000, the MCX charge is 0.0021 per cent of Rs 7,00,000, or Rs 14.70 per side. The options rate is set on premium, so it is far smaller in absolute terms than the futures rate on the same notional. MCX revises this schedule periodically; the exchange transaction charges article carries the cross-exchange comparison.

SEBI turnover fee and stamp duty

SEBI levies a turnover fee of Rs 10 per crore on non-agricultural commodities and Rs 1 per crore on agricultural commodities, plus GST (zerodha.com/charges, as of 19 June 2026). The lower agri rate, combined with the CTT exemption, makes agricultural commodity futures materially cheaper to trade than bullion or energy. The SEBI turnover fee article carries the segment-wise schedule.

Stamp duty on commodity trades is buy-side only, as it is across every segment after the Finance Act 2019 unification. As of 19 June 2026 (zerodha.com/charges), it is 0.002 per cent or Rs 200 per crore on commodity futures and 0.003 per cent or Rs 300 per crore on commodity options. The per-segment schedule is in stamp duty for stockbroker trades .

GST

GST at 18 per cent applies to brokerage plus MCX transaction charges plus SEBI charges on every commodity trade (zerodha.com/charges, as of 19 June 2026). It does not apply to CTT or stamp duty. On a commodity trade with Rs 20 brokerage and Rs 15 of MCX and SEBI charges, GST is Rs 6.30. The CGST-plus-SGST versus IGST split is in GST on broking charges .

For intraday commodity positions, Zerodha blocks an additional margin of 0.01 per cent of turnover on MIS and cover orders to cover CTT, transaction charges, and SEBI charges, released once the position is closed and the actual charges are deducted. This is a margin block, not an extra charge.

Worked example: one lot of gold futures

Consider a client who buys one lot of gold futures on MCX at a contract value of Rs 7,00,000 and sells the lot the same day at Rs 7,10,000 (an intraday trade). Charges as of 19 June 2026 (zerodha.com/charges):

The round trip costs about Rs 168.80 on a Rs 10,000 notional gain. CTT (Rs 71) and the MCX transaction charge (Rs 29.61 across both legs) are the largest pieces, with brokerage capped at Rs 40 for the round trip. Every figure traces to a published rate, and the Zerodha brokerage calculator reproduces the breakdown for any contract value.

For a position held to delivery rather than squared off intraday, commodity futures on MCX go to compulsory delivery for certain contracts at expiry, which carries warehousing and assaying costs outside the per-trade charge set. Most retail clients close positions before the delivery window opens to avoid this; the Multi Commodity Exchange entry covers the delivery mechanism.

Worked example: one lot of crude oil futures held overnight

A second example shows how the percentage brokerage slab behaves on a lower-value contract. Consider a client who buys one lot of crude oil futures at a contract value of Rs 5,80,000 and sells it the next day at Rs 5,90,000, a normal positional (NRML) trade. Charges as of 19 June 2026 (zerodha.com/charges):

The round trip costs about Rs 148.18 on a Rs 10,000 notional gain. On this Rs 5,80,000 contract, 0.03 per cent of the buy value is Rs 174, well above Rs 20, so the Rs 20 cap binds on both legs, as it does on almost every full-size MCX contract. The percentage slab only matters on the smallest contracts such as gold petal, where 0.03 per cent of a sub-Rs 70,000 value can fall below Rs 20. Crude oil futures carry the same charge logic as gold futures ; only the contract value and tick size differ.

Charges that do not apply to commodities

Two equity charges that surprise new traders do not arise on commodity trades, which is worth stating plainly. There is no depository participant (DP) charge on a commodity trade, because commodity futures and options settle through MCX clearing rather than a CDSL demat debit; the Rs 15.34 DP charge that follows every equity delivery sell has no equivalent on MCX. There is also no IPFT levy in the commodity segment as there is in equity and equity derivatives. The DP-charge mechanism and where it does apply are in DP charges on Zerodha sell transactions , and the IPFT levy in IPFT levy on Zerodha trades . The surprise charges that catch commodity traders are instead CTT on the sell side and the MCX transaction charge, both covered above. The full cross-segment list of charges that do and do not apply is in hidden charges at Zerodha .

How commodity charges compare to equity derivatives

A commodity trade and an equity-derivative trade share the same brokerage logic at Zerodha, the lower of 0.03 per cent or Rs 20 on futures and Rs 20 flat on options. The difference sits in the statutory stack. CTT on commodity futures (0.01 per cent) is one fifth of the equity-futures STT rate (0.05 per cent) as of 19 June 2026, and CTT on commodity options (0.05 per cent) is one third of the equity-options STT rate (0.15 per cent of premium). Against that, MCX transaction charges on futures run higher in percentage terms than NSE’s equity-futures rate. The net effect varies by contract value and instrument, so the worked example above, run through the brokerage calculator for the specific contract, is the reliable guide rather than a blanket comparison. The full equity-side numbers are in F&O futures brokerage and the brokerage structure overview .

See also

• Zerodha
• Zerodha brokerage structure overview
• F&O futures brokerage
• F&O options brokerage
• STT and CTT on Zerodha trades
• Commodity transaction tax
• Securities transaction tax
• Commodity trading
• Multi Commodity Exchange
• MCX
• Gold futures
• Crude oil futures
• Exchange transaction charges
• SEBI turnover fee
• IPFT levy on Zerodha trades
• GST on broking charges
• Stamp duty for stockbroker trades
• Hidden charges at Zerodha
• Equity intraday brokerage
• MTF interest and brokerage
• Zerodha Console
• Kite by Zerodha
• SEBI
• National Stock Exchange
• Bombay Stock Exchange

External references

• Zerodha charges
• Zerodha brokerage calculator
• Zerodha support: charges
• MCX India
• SEBI

References

1. Zerodha charges schedule, zerodha.com/charges (accessed 19 June 2026).
2. Zerodha support, “List of all charges and taxes”, support.zerodha.com (accessed 19 June 2026).
3. Finance Act 2013, Sections 116A to 116E (Commodities Transaction Tax), effective 1 July 2013.
4. Income Tax Act 1961, Section 36(1)(xv), deduction of STT and CTT for business assessees.
5. MCX Schedule of Transaction Charges (applicable FY2026-27).
6. Indian Stamp Act 1899, as amended by Finance Act 2019 (uniform stamp duty effective 1 July 2020).
7. CGST Act 2017, Section 9 (GST on broking services).