I recently ordered some books from Packt Publishers from their website. They outsourced the printing to a company called Lightning Source who shipped the books through UPS transport. Original invoice amount for books was Rs. 9236 plus shipping charges of Rs. 550. The Packt FAQ mentions no more extra charges for India (See FAQ screenshot). However, UPS courier charged Rs. 5790 extra, which is around 62 percent extra over the original amount of Rs. 9236.

The HSN code in original invoice was 49011010 that is specific to printed books. However, UPS courier changed the HSN code to 9968 and UPS confirmed it is because of Government's new GST rules. Not very good for author's and students. I have also asked if this is an Anti-India policy from Packt/Lightning Source because Packt/Lightning Source has printing partners in India and to all other asian countries they actually ship from India (See FAQ screenshot).

Picture speaks more than words. Following invoice screenshots will tell the story better.

Original Invoice from Packt:

FAQ from Packt:

UPS Invoices During Delivery: