GST Registration Checker

GST registration limit in India

The ₹40 lakh threshold only applies if you sell nothing but goods, and not if those goods are ice cream, pan masala, tobacco products or bricks. Those stay at the ₹20 lakh threshold even for an exclusive goods supplier. The moment you add any service to what you sell, the whole business drops to the ₹20 lakh threshold, not just the service portion.

Special-category states

Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand are special-category states under GST. Each one individually chose whether to keep the original ₹10 lakh threshold or opt up to the regular limits:

• Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura: stayed at the original ₹10 lakh threshold for both goods and services.
• Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir: opted up to the full regular thresholds (₹40 lakh goods / ₹20 lakh services).
• Telangana and Puducherry: not special-category states, but specifically opted out of the enhanced ₹40 lakh goods threshold, so they use ₹20 lakh for goods too.
• Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim: reported inconsistently across sources on whether they've opted up. The checker above flags these rather than guessing. Verify your exact threshold on the GST portal if you operate from one of these three.

When registration is mandatory, whatever your turnover

Section 24 of the CGST Act lists situations where you must register regardless of how small your turnover is:

• Inter-state supply of goods (not services, see below)
• Casual taxable persons and non-resident taxable persons
• Anyone liable to pay tax under reverse charge
• E-commerce operators required to collect TCS under Section 52
• Agents supplying goods or services on behalf of another taxable person
• Input Service Distributors

Inter-state goods vs inter-state services

This is the single most commonly confused rule. Inter-state supply of goods triggers compulsory registration with no threshold exemption at all. Sell one item across a state border and you need to register, whatever your turnover. Inter-state supply of services does not carry that override: Notification 10/2017-Integrated Tax exempts service providers making inter-state supplies from mandatory registration, so your normal Section 22 threshold still applies. A freelance consultant working for clients in other states is not automatically required to register just because the client is elsewhere.

Selling through e-commerce platforms

Older guidance often says any e-commerce sale requires registration. That changed in October 2023. Unregistered sellers below the normal Section 22 threshold can now supply intra-state through an e-commerce operator like Amazon or Flipkart without registering, as long as they make no inter-state supply. Selling to buyers in other states through the same platform, or operating the e-commerce platform yourself and collecting TCS, still falls under the mandatory rules above.

Not sure which situation applies to you?

The rules above are the same for every business. If you're specifically a freelancer or consultant weighing whether to register voluntarily, or want to know what the registration process itself actually involves once you decide, see do freelancers need to register for GST: a decision guide by situation.