GST Registration in India
Obtain your 15-digit GSTIN the right way—expert-led, transparently priced and handled end to end, anywhere in India.
GST registration is the process of enrolling your business under India's Goods and Services Tax and obtaining a unique 15-digit GST Identification Number (GSTIN) on the official GST portal. This number links your PAN to the state you operate in and becomes your legal identity for collecting tax, claiming input tax credit and filing returns. Whether you run a proprietorship, partnership, LLP or company, your GSTIN is what lets you raise tax invoices your customers and vendors can rely on.
Registration becomes mandatory once your aggregate turnover crosses the threshold that applies to your business—and which threshold applies depends on what you supply. The higher Rs 40 lakh limit is available only to businesses dealing exclusively in goods; the moment you also supply any taxable service, you fall under the Rs 20 lakh threshold. That Rs 40 lakh benefit also does not apply if you make inter-state supplies or deal in certain notified goods such as ice cream, pan masala, tobacco or fly-ash bricks—these stay at Rs 20 lakh. Special-category states apply lower limits that themselves vary from state to state, so the prudent figure to plan against is Rs 20 lakh unless you are a goods-only supplier. But turnover is only one trigger. Many startups must register from day one because they sell goods across state borders, list on marketplaces like Amazon or Flipkart, or fall under reverse charge—situations where the law requires registration irrespective of turnover.
Getting it right the first time protects your cash flow and your credibility. An application with mismatched documents, the wrong place of business or an incorrect HSN/SAC classification invites clarification notices, delays or rejection. A correctly obtained GSTIN, by contrast, lets you claim input tax credit from the start, bill enterprise clients who insist on a compliant invoice, and avoid penalties for operating unregistered when you were required to register.
- 01
Legal authority to collect tax and issue invoices
Once registered, you can lawfully charge GST and issue compliant tax invoices carrying your GSTIN—something most B2B and government buyers require before placing an order. Without it, you cannot legally collect tax or pass on credit to your buyers.
- 02
Input tax credit that lowers your tax cost
A GSTIN lets you claim credit for the GST paid on business purchases and set it off against the tax collected on sales. Over a year this materially reduces your effective tax and improves working capital—credit that unregistered businesses simply lose.
- 03
Access to marketplaces and inter-state trade
E-commerce platforms and most inter-state buyers of goods will not onboard you without a GSTIN. Registration opens up selling on Amazon, Flipkart and similar marketplaces and supplying customers in other states—often the single biggest reason product startups register early. Sellers of goods through these platforms generally need a GSTIN regardless of turnover, while suppliers of services through a marketplace, and small intra-state goods sellers, get some relief up to the normal threshold.
- 04
Credibility with banks, clients and investors
A GSTIN signals that your business is formally recognised and compliant, which matters to banks, investors, large clients and vendors. Many procurement and vendor-onboarding processes make a valid GSTIN a hard requirement before they will work with you.
- 05
Composition scheme for simpler small-taxpayer compliance
Eligible small taxpayers can opt for the composition scheme—paying tax at a low fixed rate on turnover with simpler, mainly quarterly obligations instead of regular monthly returns. We help you assess whether the regular or composition route suits your numbers.
Who it's for.
- Businesses whose aggregate turnover crosses the applicable threshold in a financial year—Rs 40 lakh only where you supply goods exclusively, and Rs 20 lakh the moment you supply any taxable service, make inter-state supplies, or deal in certain notified goods (such as ice cream, pan masala or tobacco). Special-category state limits are lower and vary by state, so confirm the figure that applies to your state.
- Any person making inter-state taxable supply of goods, regardless of turnover.
- E-commerce operators, and sellers supplying goods through e-commerce operators, who generally must register regardless of turnover—though suppliers of services through a platform are exempt up to the normal threshold, and small intra-state suppliers of goods have a relaxation.
- Casual taxable persons and non-resident taxable persons operating in India.
- Businesses liable to pay tax under reverse charge, and agents supplying on behalf of others.
- Input service distributors and those required to deduct TDS or collect TCS under GST.
- Anyone choosing to register voluntarily to claim input tax credit or meet client requirements.
What you'll need.
- 01PAN of the business and of the proprietor, partners or directors
- 02Aadhaar of the proprietor or authorised signatory, for Aadhaar authentication
- 03Passport-size photographs of the proprietor, partners or directors
- 04Proof of constitution—Certificate of Incorporation, partnership deed or registration certificate, as applicable
- 05Proof of principal place of business—latest electricity bill, property tax receipt or municipal khata
- 06Rent or lease agreement for rented premises, with a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the owner
- 07Bank account proof—a cancelled cheque, bank statement or passbook first page. Note that under Rule 10A this is not required for the initial REG-01 submission; bank details are furnished within 30 days of the grant of registration, or before you file your first return/GSTR-1, whichever is earlier.
- 08Board resolution or Letter of Authorisation appointing the authorised signatory
- 09Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) for companies and LLPs
- 10Email address and mobile number of the authorised signatory for OTP verification
- 11Details of goods and services with their HSN/SAC codes
- 12Proof for any additional place of business, where applicable
How it works, step by step.
- Step 01
Assess applicability and choose the right registration
We first confirm whether registration is mandatory or voluntary for you, and whether the regular or composition scheme fits. We also identify the correct state(s) based on your principal and additional places of business, preventing costly rework later.
- Step 02
Collect and vet your documents
Our team prepares a tailored checklist and reviews every document for consistency—name spellings, address proofs and premises documents in particular. We flag mismatches before filing, since these are the most common reason applications are queried or rejected.
- Step 03
Generate the TRN (Part A of REG-01)
We file Part A of Form GST REG-01 on the portal with your PAN, mobile number and email, which are verified by OTP. The portal then issues a Temporary Reference Number (TRN) used to complete the detailed application.
- Step 04
Complete Part B and upload documents
Using the TRN, we complete Part B with your business details, promoters, authorised signatory, places of business and the goods or services with their HSN/SAC codes, then upload the supporting documents in the prescribed formats.
- Step 05
Authenticate and submit
The application is submitted after authentication—Aadhaar authentication of the signatory, or DSC for companies and LLPs, or EVC where applicable. On submission the portal generates an Application Reference Number (ARN) for tracking status.
- Step 06
Respond to any departmental query
If the officer raises a query in Form GST REG-03 seeking clarification or documents, we prepare and file the response in Form GST REG-04 within the stipulated time. Handling this promptly and correctly often separates a smooth approval from a rejection.
- Step 07
Receive your GSTIN and certificate
Once approved, the department issues your 15-digit GSTIN and the registration certificate in Form GST REG-06, downloadable from the portal. We hand these over along with your portal login and guidance on your first filings.
What to expect.
Timelines depend on government processing and the route your application takes. Eligible low-risk small taxpayers can opt for the optional Simplified Registration Scheme (effective 1 November 2025), under which registration is granted automatically within about 3 working days. For a standard application, a clean filing with Aadhaar authentication is typically processed within about 7 working days, while applications routed for physical verification of premises can take up to around 30 days—subject in every case to the department's processing. We cannot guarantee a date, but we do ensure your application is filed correctly and any follow-ups are handled quickly.
There is no government fee to obtain GST registration—the statutory fee is nil. What you pay is a professional fee for the advisory, document preparation, accurate filing and query handling described above. We quote this fee upfront and in full before we begin, with no surprises.
Where an incidental cost does apply—such as a Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate for a company or LLP, or notarisation of a document—we tell you in advance and bill it separately from our professional fee. Because your structure, number of states and choice of scheme all affect the work involved, we confirm the exact scope and price after a short assessment of your business.
Aggregate turnover and the inter-state supply trap founders get wrong
The most common misunderstanding is how the threshold is calculated. 'Aggregate turnover' is measured on an all-India basis on the same PAN and includes taxable, exempt, export and inter-state supplies—not just the sales of one branch or state. Founders who look only at a single state's numbers often assume they are below the limit when, taken together, they have already crossed it and were required to register. It is equally important to apply the right limit in the first place: the Rs 40 lakh threshold is available only to those supplying goods exclusively, so a business that offers any taxable service, deals in certain notified goods, or supplies inter-state is capped at Rs 20 lakh—and special-category states set their own, generally lower, figures.
The second trap is the inter-state rule. It is widely believed that any inter-state sale forces immediate registration. That is true for goods—an inter-state supplier of goods must register regardless of turnover. For services, however, a specific exemption lets you supply across state borders up to the Rs 20 lakh threshold (Rs 10 lakh for special-category states) before registration becomes compulsory. Treating services like goods makes many small service providers register earlier than the law requires.
Selling goods through an e-commerce operator changes the picture again: such sellers generally must register irrespective of turnover, though suppliers of services through a marketplace are exempt up to the normal threshold and small intra-state suppliers of goods have had a relaxation since October 2023. Because these rules interact, the safe approach is to map your actual supplies—what you sell, to whom and across which borders—before deciding. That mapping is exactly where a short conversation with our team saves you from both under-registering and facing penalties, and over-registering and taking on compliance you did not need.
Handled end to end by Startup Pandit.
Applicability and scheme assessment (regular vs composition) for your business
A tailored document checklist with hands-on help assembling it
Accurate preparation and filing of Form GST REG-01 (Parts A and B)
Aadhaar authentication or DSC coordination and submission
Drafting and filing of responses to any departmental query (REG-03/REG-04)
Your 15-digit GSTIN and the GST registration certificate (Form REG-06)
GST portal login credentials and a walkthrough of your dashboard
A briefing on invoicing, HSN/SAC codes and your first return due dates
A single point of contact throughout, with post-registration support
What follows — and how we keep you compliant.
- File your periodic returns—GSTR-1 for outward supplies and GSTR-3B for summary and tax payment—on time, monthly or quarterly as applicable.
- Issue GST-compliant tax invoices with the correct GSTIN, HSN/SAC codes and tax rates.
- Reconcile input tax credit against GSTR-2B before claiming it, to avoid mismatches and reversals.
- File the annual return (GSTR-9) where applicable, based on your turnover.
- Composition taxpayers file the quarterly statement (CMP-08) and the annual return (GSTR-4).
- Report any change in address, authorised signatory or bank account through amendment of registration—and, if you registered without bank details, add them within 30 days of grant or before your first return under Rule 10A.
- Maintain proper books and records, and display your GSTIN at your principal place of business.
One roof, one plan.
Startup Pandit is a pan-India, one-roof startup-services firm. GST registration rarely stands alone—it connects to your company or LLP incorporation, your PAN and TAN, your accounting and your ongoing returns. Because we handle all of these under one roof, your GSTIN is set up to fit the rest of your compliance, not in isolation, and you deal with senior professionals rather than a form-filling desk.
You get a single point of contact who owns your application from assessment to certificate, transparent pricing quoted before we start, and honest advice on whether and where you actually need to register. We work with founders across India, remotely and efficiently, and stay available for the filings that follow. Startup Pandit is a private professional-services firm, not a government body—we help you deal with the GST system correctly, we do not represent it.
Frequently asked.
Is there any government fee for GST registration?+
No. The government charges no fee to obtain GST registration—the statutory fee is nil. What you pay is a professional fee for advisory, accurate filing and handling any departmental queries, plus any incidental cost such as a Digital Signature Certificate, which we always quote upfront.
What is the turnover limit for GST registration?+
It depends on what you supply. The Rs 40 lakh limit applies only if you deal exclusively in goods; if you supply any taxable service, make inter-state supplies, or deal in certain notified goods (ice cream, pan masala, tobacco and the like), the threshold is Rs 20 lakh. Special-category states apply lower limits that vary by state—Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura use Rs 10 lakh for both goods and services, while several others adopted Rs 20 lakh and some retained Rs 40 lakh on goods—so confirm the figure for your state. Aggregate turnover is measured across all your operations on the same PAN, not state by state.
Do I need GST registration to sell on Amazon or Flipkart?+
Usually yes. Sellers supplying goods through e-commerce operators generally need a GSTIN regardless of turnover, so you will be asked for one before you can list. There are exceptions: suppliers of services through a marketplace are exempt up to the normal Rs 20 lakh/Rs 10 lakh threshold, and small intra-state suppliers of goods have had a relaxation since October 2023. We can assess which rule applies to your specific products.
How long does GST registration take?+
Eligible low-risk small taxpayers can now opt for the Simplified Registration Scheme (effective 1 November 2025), which grants automated approval within about 3 working days. Outside that route, a clean application with Aadhaar authentication is typically processed within about 7 working days, while applications flagged for physical verification of premises can take up to around 30 days. These timelines depend on government processing and cannot be guaranteed. We keep the process moving by filing correctly and responding to any query promptly.
Can I register voluntarily even if I am below the threshold?+
Yes. Voluntary registration is allowed and is often worthwhile if you want to claim input tax credit, sell to enterprise clients who require a GSTIN, or plan to scale soon. Once registered, you must comply with return filing like any other taxpayer, so it is a decision worth discussing first.
What is the composition scheme and should I choose it?+
The composition scheme lets eligible small taxpayers pay tax at a low fixed rate on turnover with simpler, mainly quarterly compliance instead of monthly returns. It suits many small traders and manufacturers but restricts input tax credit and certain supplies. We assess your numbers to recommend regular or composition.
Do I need a separate GST registration for each state?+
Yes. GST is state-specific, so a place of business in more than one state generally needs a separate registration for each state, all linked to the same PAN. Multiple locations within a single state are usually covered by one registration with additional places of business added.
What is a GSTIN?+
A GSTIN is your 15-digit Goods and Services Tax Identification Number, issued on the GST portal when your registration is approved. Built from your state code and PAN, it is the number you display on invoices, quote to vendors and use to file returns. It is your business's identity under GST.
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