Looking for expert help with GST and income tax for newspaper agents and distributors India? The team at Tax Garden, based in Kondapur, Hyderabad, helps Indian SMEs stay compliant. End-to-end filings, notices, and deadline tracking, all in one place.
Key Takeaways
- Newspapers, journals and periodicals (heading 4902) are nil-rated under GST (Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate), S. No. 133).
- If newspapers are all you sell, you don't need GST registration at any turnover (Section 23(1)(a), CGST Act).
- Leaflet insertion fees are taxable at 18%. Once you earn them, your newspaper sales count towards the Rs 20 lakh registration limit too.
- An agent who buys and resells copies can use Section 44AD (6% on bank or UPI receipts, 8% on cash). Commission earners can't.
- Commission from a publisher attracts 2% TDS above Rs 20,000 a year (Section 194H for FY 2025-26; Section 393(1) Table Sl. No. 1(ii) from 1 April 2026).
Is GST charged on newspapers in India? No. Newspapers, journals and periodicals under heading 4902 are exempt from GST under S. No. 133 of Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate), in force from 22 September 2025. A newspaper agent selling only newspapers needn't register. Fees for inserting advertising leaflets are a separate service taxed at 18%, and they bring the newspaper sales into the registration test.
If you run a news agency, distribute papers to sub-agents and hawkers, or deliver to a few hundred homes every morning, most of what you sell carries no GST. That part is simple. The trouble starts with the side income: Rs 2 for every leaflet stuffed into a paper, a coaching centre's monthly flyer drop, a commission cheque from a magazine publisher. Each of these changes your GST and income tax position in a way the newspaper sales don't. This guide covers GST as it stands today and income tax for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) under the Income-tax Act 1961, with the matching sections of the Income-tax Act 2025 that apply from 1 April 2026.
What's taxed and what isn't in a news agency?
Start by splitting your income into streams. Each one has its own GST treatment.
Comparison
GST on a Newspaper Agent's Income Streams
| Income stream | GST treatment | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sale of newspapers, journals and periodicals you buy from publishers | Nil (exempt goods, heading 4902) | Notif 10/2025-CT(R), S. No. 133 |
| Leaflet or pamphlet insertion fees from advertisers | 18% (advertising material delivery, SAC 998361) | Notif 11/2017-CT(R), S. No. 21(ii) |
| Commission from a publisher for selling on its behalf | 18% (trade services on fee or commission basis) | Notif 11/2017-CT(R), S. Nos. 5 and 6 |
| Home delivery charge billed together with the newspaper | Follows the newspaper if naturally bundled (our reading, see below) | Sections 2(30) and 8(a), CGST Act |
| Printed books sold alongside papers (heading 4901) | Nil | Notif 10/2025-CT(R), S. No. 132 |
Source: Notifications 10/2025 and 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate) as amended; CBIC Explanatory Notes to the Scheme of Classification of Services
The nil entry is for goods only. S. No. 133 of Notification 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate) exempts "Newspapers, journals and periodicals, whether or not illustrated or containing advertising material". That covers the copies you sell. It doesn't cover a fee an advertiser pays you to slip leaflets inside them.
Leaflet inserts are an advertising service. CBIC's explanatory notes to the services classification put "delivery services of free samples and other advertising material" under SAC 998361, in heading 9983. That heading is taxed at 9% CGST plus 9% SGST under S. No. 21(ii) of Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate). Notification 15/2025-Central Tax (Rate) reworded item (ii) but didn't change the rate.
Commission is a service too. Headings 9961 and 9962 of Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate) cover commission agents in wholesale and retail trade, at 9% CGST plus 9% SGST. There's no exemption for agents of nil-rated goods. The one commission exemption in Notification 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) is for agricultural produce.
Home delivery charges. Many agents bill households a monthly amount for the paper plus a small delivery charge. A composite supply is taxed as its principal supply (Section 8(a), CGST Act), and the paper is clearly the main thing being bought. On that reading, the delivery charge follows the nil rate. CBIC hasn't issued a clarification on newspaper delivery charges, so treat this as our reading, and keep the charge on the same bill as the paper rather than invoicing it separately.
Do you need GST registration as a newspaper agent?
Here's the rule that matters. Section 23(1)(a) of the CGST Act says a person "engaged exclusively in the business of supplying goods or services or both that are not liable to tax or wholly exempt from tax" isn't liable to register. A pure news agency with Rs 80 lakh of newspaper sales stays outside GST.
The moment you add taxable income, that exemption no longer fits, and Section 2(6) works against you. Aggregate turnover includes exempt supplies, so your newspaper sales count towards the threshold along with the leaflet fees.
Step-by-Step Guide
GST Registration Test for a News Agency
1. List every income stream
Newspaper and magazine sales, leaflet insertion fees, publisher commission, delivery charges, and anything else such as stationery sales.
2. Is everything exempt?
If you only sell nil-rated goods like newspapers and printed books, you don't need to register at any turnover (Section 23(1)(a), CGST Act).
3. Any taxable income at all?
Leaflet fees and commission are taxable services at 18%. Even Rs 5,000 a month of insert income moves you to step 4.
4. Add up aggregate turnover
Taxable plus exempt supplies, all-India, under the same PAN (Section 2(6)). Your newspaper sales are counted in full.
5. Compare with Rs 20 lakh
Above Rs 20 lakh in a financial year (Rs 10 lakh in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura), register within 30 days of crossing it (Sections 22(1) and 25(1)).
Source: Sections 2(6), 22, 23 and 25, CGST Act 2017
The Rs 40 lakh limit doesn't help. The third proviso to Section 22(1) lets States raise the limit to Rs 40 lakh only for suppliers "engaged exclusively in the supply of goods". Leaflet fees are a service, so an agent who earns them is back at Rs 20 lakh.
Example. Lakshmi runs a news agency in Warangal. In FY 2026-27 she sells Rs 30 lakh of newspapers to homes and shops. A coaching centre and two supermarkets pay her Rs 20,000 a month in total to insert their leaflets, which is Rs 2.4 lakh for the year.
- Without the leaflet income, she needn't register. All her sales are exempt.
- With it, her aggregate turnover is Rs 30 lakh + Rs 2.4 lakh = Rs 32.4 lakh. That's above Rs 20 lakh, so she must register.
- GST on the leaflet fees: 18% of Rs 2,40,000 = Rs 43,200 (Rs 21,600 CGST and Rs 21,600 SGST). Her newspaper sales stay nil-rated on her invoices.
Her advertisers are businesses, so many of them can claim that Rs 43,200 back as input tax credit if they're registered. For them, her GST mostly washes out. The real cost for Lakshmi is the compliance: monthly or quarterly returns, and tax invoices for the leaflet work.
Input tax credit once registered. Credit on things used for both sides of the business, like a rented godown or a delivery van, has to be split. The part that goes with exempt newspaper sales is reversed (Section 17(2), CGST Act and Rule 42, CGST Rules). Publisher invoices for newspapers carry no GST anyway, so there's no credit to claim on them.
E-way bills. Rule 138(14)(e) of the CGST Rules says no e-way bill is needed for goods in the schedule to Notification 2/2017-Central Tax (Rate). Newspapers were S. No. 120 of that schedule. The rule text hasn't been updated for Notification 10/2025, but newspapers stay exempt in the new schedule too.
Income tax: can a news agent use Section 44AD?
It depends on whether you trade or earn commission. Most agents buy copies from the publisher at a discount and sell them on, owning the stock and the unsold-copy risk. That's trading, and Section 44AD of the Income-tax Act 1961 (Section 58 of the 2025 Act from 1 April 2026) is open to it.
If the publisher pays you commission to sell on its behalf, the position changes. Section 44AD(6)(ii) excludes "a person earning income in the nature of commission or brokerage", and Section 58(11)(a)(iv) of the 2025 Act repeats the bar. Both Acts also exclude "any agency business" (44AD(6)(iii) and 58(11)(a)(v)). Neither Act defines that term. Calling yourself a "news agent" doesn't by itself make your trade an agency business, but your agreement with the publisher should match how you actually work.
Comparison
Income Tax Rules for a Newspaper Agent
| Rule | FY 2025-26 (1961 Act) | From 1 April 2026 (2025 Act) |
|---|---|---|
| Presumptive profit for resale business | Section 44AD: 6% of bank or UPI receipts, 8% of the rest | Section 58(2), Table Sl. No. 1: same rates |
| Turnover limit for presumptive scheme | Rs 2 crore, or Rs 3 crore if cash receipts are within 5% | Same limits |
| Commission or agency income | Not eligible, Section 44AD(6)(ii) and (iii) | Not eligible, Section 58(11)(a)(iv) and (v) |
| Declaring less than the presumptive profit | Books and tax audit if total income exceeds the basic exemption limit, Section 44AD(5) | Same, Section 58(3) |
| Tax audit when declaring under the scheme | Not needed, first proviso to Section 44AB | Not needed, Section 63(2) |
| TDS on commission you receive | Section 194H: 2%, above Rs 20,000 a year | Section 393(1), Table Sl. No. 1(ii): 2%, above Rs 20,000 |
Source: Income-tax Act 1961 (as amended by Finance Act 2025); Income-tax Act 2025 (as amended by Finance Act 2026)
Worked example (AY 2026-27). Take Lakshmi in FY 2025-26, with the same Rs 30 lakh of newspaper sales and Rs 2.4 lakh of leaflet fees. Her turnover is Rs 32.4 lakh. Of that, Rs 14.4 lakh came in through UPI and bank transfers, and Rs 18 lakh was collected in cash at the doorstep.
- 6% of Rs 14,40,000 = Rs 86,400.
- 8% of Rs 18,00,000 = Rs 1,44,000.
- Presumptive profit: Rs 2,30,400.
She has no other income and uses the new regime under Section 115BAC, where the first Rs 4 lakh is taxed at nil. Her tax is nil. The leaflet fees are for an advertising service, not commission, so they don't break her 44AD eligibility.
Now notice the cash. Every household she moves to UPI shifts that collection from the 8% bucket to 6%. If Rs 10 lakh of the cash had come by UPI instead, her presumptive profit would fall by 2% of Rs 10 lakh, or Rs 20,000.
When the scheme doesn't fit. If your actual profit is lower than 6% or 8%, say because sub-agent discounts and unsold returns eat most of the margin, you can declare the lower figure. You then need books of account and a tax audit if your total income exceeds the basic exemption limit (Section 44AD(5); Section 58(3) of the 2025 Act). Larger distributors usually find it simpler to keep proper books from the start.
TDS on commission. A publisher company paying you commission deducts 2% once the year's total crosses Rs 20,000. The Act defines commission as a payment to "a person acting on behalf of another person" for services in the course of buying or selling goods (Explanation to Section 194H; Section 402(7) of the 2025 Act). Check every deduction against Form 26AS and AIS before you file.
Deadlines right now. If you weren't liable to audit and missed the original due date for FY 2025-26, a belated return under Section 139(4) can be filed until 31 December 2026, with a late fee of Rs 5,000, or Rs 1,000 if total income is within Rs 5 lakh (Section 234F). If your accounts were audited, the return is due by 21 November 2026 (CBDT Circular 07/2026).
Common mistakes news agents make
- Ignoring the leaflet money. Rs 2 per insert feels too small to matter. Across a few thousand copies a day it adds up, and it's taxable income that pulls your newspaper sales into the GST threshold.
- Applying the Rs 40 lakh goods limit. That limit is only for suppliers of goods alone. With any service income, your threshold is Rs 20 lakh.
- Charging GST on the newspapers. After registering for leaflet income, some agents add GST to the whole household bill. The papers stay nil-rated. Only the taxable services carry 18%.
- Filing on 44AD while taking commission. If your publisher pays you commission rather than selling copies to you, the scheme is barred for that income. Read your agreement and the publisher's TDS entries in AIS before choosing.
- Mixing household cash and personal money. Cash collected at doorsteps is taxed at the higher 8% rate under 44AD, and without a record of it you can't show what came in through UPI or the bank. Deposit collections into a separate business account.
How Tax Garden helps news agencies
We start with your income streams and tell you whether you need a GSTIN at all. If leaflet or commission income has pushed you over Rs 20 lakh, our GST registration service gets you registered, and our GST return filing service handles your returns with the nil-rated sales and the taxable services reported correctly. At year end, we prepare your return under 44AD or on books through our ITR filing service, and our accounting and bookkeeping service is there if you need full books.
For background, see our guides to the GST registration limit of Rs 20 lakh and Rs 40 lakh, GST on printing of books and newspapers, Section 44AD presumptive taxation, TDS on commission under Section 194H and Section 393 and income tax for stationery shop and bookstore owners.
