Blog ·
How to Buy T-Shirts Online in India Without Surprise Fees
The price on the product page should be the price at UPI. If GST, shipping, or a “handling” line appears at the last step, you are not buying a tee. You are buying a headline.
Key Takeaways
- Under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, MRP is the maximum price inclusive of all taxes. A seller cannot add GST on top of MRP.
- Impulse shows MRP, selling price, and “inclusive of all taxes (GST)” on every PDP. Live drop: ₹1,599–₹1,899.
- Prepaid orders over ₹999 ship free across Indian PIN codes. COD is not the free-ship path.
- Unused tees get a 7-day size exchange. There is no restocking fee for a honest size miss.
CARE Ratings puts India’s apparel market at about Rs 9.30 lakh crore in FY25, with e-commerce already 22% of organised retail. That is a lot of checkouts. It is also a lot of carts that grow by ₹80 at the last screen. This spoke sits under buy oversized graphic tees online in India and covers the money, not the cut.
If the total already looks clean, go to the shop. If you have been burned by “+GST” at UPI, stay here.
What should “inclusive of all taxes” look like on a t-shirt page?
It should look like one INR number, labelled inclusive of GST, with MRP and selling price in the same block. Rule 18(2) also bars sale above the printed retail sale price. Online, that means the product card and the Razorpay screen must agree. If they do not, leave.
Technavio forecasts India’s online fashion retail market to add about $56.2 billion from 2025 to 2030 at a 21.1% CAGR. Growth does not excuse a tax surprise. A packaged garment sold in India is a packaged commodity. Country of origin should be on the page too. Impulse’s is India. See what homegrown means on a product page.
In India, MRP is defined as inclusive of all taxes. A trustworthy t-shirt product page shows MRP, the selling price in INR, and GST in the same block, then repeats that total at UPI. A new tax line at checkout is a reason to close the tab.
“₹499” that becomes ₹620 at UPI is not a deal. It is a headline. The honest comparison is selling price inclusive of tax, plus shipping if you are under the threshold.
Should you pay prepaid or COD on a graphic tee?
Pay prepaid if you want the free-shipping threshold to count and the courier to move without a cash handshake. COD on graphic tees is how carts die at the door — the buyer is out, the packet comes back, the print you wanted sits in a returns pile. Unicommerce’s 2026 apparel brief puts Indian apparel e-commerce near $63 billion by 2030. That volume only works if prepaid is the default.
Impulse’s live drop is ₹1,599–₹1,899. Prepaid over ₹999 ships free. That is every single tee in the drop if you buy one. COD is available where the courier allows it, but it is not the path we price shipping around. First order over ₹499 still takes 10% with WELCOME10 on prepaid.
If you are gifting, prepaid also means the recipient is not asked for cash. Use gifting and a note in the parcel.
Which free shipping thresholds are real?
A real threshold is a number on the product page that still works at checkout, on prepaid, to every serviceable PIN. A fake threshold is “free shipping” in the banner and ₹79 in the cart, or free shipping only on a bundle you did not want. CARE Ratings counts 955 million internet users. Most of them have seen both.
| What the site says | What to check | Impulse |
|---|---|---|
| Free shipping | Prepaid? Minimum? PIN list? | Prepaid over ₹999, India PINs |
| Inclusive of tax | Does UPI match the PDP? | MRP + selling price + GST on page |
| Sale % | Sale off what MRP? | Compare-at MRP shown, no fake 70% off |
Dispatch is 1–3 working days after payment. That is not same-day magic. It is a working warehouse. If you need a tee for a Sunday fest, order by Wednesday. Outfit timing is in college fest outfits and the long-weekend outfit note.
7-day size exchange vs restocking fees — what is fair?
A fair size miss is unused, unwashed, tags on, swapped in a week. A restocking fee on that is the shop charging you for their chart being vague. Impulse does a 7-day size exchange. There is no restocking line for a honest letter miss. Email hello@impulseshop.in with the order number.
We would rather you measure a tee you own than use the exchange. The chest-measure walkthrough and the cm chart spoke exist so the 7-day window stays a backup.
Legal Metrology still applies on the swap. You are not paying GST twice. The selling price you paid is the selling price of the replacement size.
What should checkout show before you tap UPI?
- The same INR total as the product page.
- GST already inside that number.
- Shipping ₹0 if prepaid and over ₹999.
- WELCOME10 applied if it is your first order over ₹499.
Then pay. Then wait 1–3 working days for dispatch. That is the whole fee story.
Frequently asked questions
Can a site add GST on top of MRP for a t-shirt?
No. MRP is inclusive of all taxes under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011. If GST appears as a new line above MRP, close the tab.
Is Impulse shipping really free?
Prepaid orders over ₹999 ship free to serviceable Indian PIN codes. One tee in the live drop already clears that. COD is a different path.
Do you charge a restocking fee on size exchange?
No, on unused tees inside 7 days. Measure first with the size chart so you do not need the email.
Why is COD not free shipping?
Cash-on-delivery has a higher fail rate at the door. We price free shipping on prepaid so the courier run is real.
Pay the number you already saw
India’s apparel e-comm will keep growing. Your cart should not grow at the last tap. Pick a print, match cm, pay GST-inclusive INR.
Shop oversized graphic tees · How to buy the cut · Size chart