Tax Rules are configured in Zoho Commerce’s tax settings section. You define tax rates (such as 5%, 12%, or 18% GST) and then assign each rate to specific product categories or individual products. You also define which geographic regions the tax applies to: for Indian GST, this typically means setting up rules for sales within India with the applicable rate for each product category. At checkout, Zoho Commerce evaluates the buyer’s address and the products in the cart, applies the matching Tax Rules, and displays the tax amount clearly in the order total.
Configure Tax Rules before your store goes live, not after. If your business is GST-registered, every taxable sale must collect the correct rate. Different product categories attract different GST rates: apparel, electronics, food products, and services each have distinct slabs. If you sell to international customers, you may need separate rules for those regions. Consult a chartered accountant familiar with GST before finalising your Tax Rule configuration to ensure the rates assigned to each product category are correct.
Zoho Commerce allows you to configure whether displayed prices are tax-inclusive or tax-exclusive, which is an important customer-facing decision. Tax-inclusive pricing (the price shown already includes GST) is common in Indian B2C contexts. Tax-exclusive pricing (GST added at checkout) is common in B2B. This setting must match how your prices are advertised elsewhere to avoid confusion. Zoho Commerce’s tax settings integrate with Zoho Books so that collected tax figures flow into your accounting records automatically.
Zoho Commerce handles GST rate calculation at checkout, but the IGST versus CGST-plus-SGST split (which depends on whether the sale is inter-state or intra-state) is typically handled at the accounting and invoicing level in Zoho Books when the order data flows through. You should verify the specific Indian GST breakdown handling with Zoho’s support documentation or a Zoho partner before relying on the platform for that level of compliance.
Yes. Tax Rules in Zoho Commerce can be assigned at the product or product category level, so a single order with items from different categories will have each item taxed at the rate defined by its own Tax Rule. The checkout summary shows the tax breakdown, and the order record stores the tax applied to each line item for accurate reporting and accounting reconciliation.
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