Complete GST registration for businesses crossing turnover thresholds.
GST registration is compulsory once your turnover crosses ₹40 lakh for goods or ₹20 lakh for services in most states, and immediately — at any turnover — if you sell across state lines, sell through an e-commerce platform, or are liable to pay tax under reverse charge. Registration gives you a GSTIN, the right to charge GST and the right to claim input credit on what you buy; it also starts a monthly return obligation that does not pause in a month with no sales.
Who this is for
GSTIN in 3-7 days
All registration types
Complete documentation
Government compliance
Documents you'll need
PAN of the business or proprietor
Aadhaar of the proprietor or partners
Proof of business address
Bank account details and a cancelled cheque
Passport-size photographs
Partnership deed or incorporation certificate, if applicable
The process
What we actually do
1
We establish whether you actually need it yet
Registering early is not free — it starts a monthly compliance cycle with late fees attached, and turning it off later means surrender proceedings. Where the threshold has not been crossed and there is no interstate or platform sale, we say so. Where voluntary registration genuinely pays because your input credit exceeds the cost of compliance, we say that instead.
2
We check the documents against what the officer will check
Proof of business premises is where most applications fail: the electricity bill, the rent agreement and the NOC have to be consistent with each other and with the address on the application. A rent agreement in a name that does not match the applicant is queried every time.
3
We file the application and complete the verification
REG-01 is filed with the documents, and verification is by Aadhaar authentication — which is now the fast path. Where Aadhaar authentication is not completed, the application goes to physical verification of premises and takes considerably longer.
4
We answer the clarification notice if one comes
A REG-03 notice seeking clarification carries a seven-working-day deadline, and an application that is not answered inside it is rejected outright — after which you start again from the beginning. Where one arrives, we deal with it inside the window.
5
We choose between composition and the regular scheme
Composition means a flat rate on turnover, quarterly payment and no input credit — simpler, and cheaper for a retailer selling to consumers. It is the wrong choice for anyone selling to registered businesses, because your customers cannot claim credit on your invoice and will notice.
6
We set up the first return cycle before it is due
Registration is the start, not the end. The first GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B fall due within weeks, and the invoice format, HSN codes and place-of-supply rules have to be right from the first invoice — correcting them later means amendments and mismatched credit for your customers.
Who this is for
Businesses whose turnover has crossed the threshold in the current financial year
Anyone selling goods or services to customers in another state, at any turnover
Sellers on Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho or any other marketplace — mandatory from the first rupee
Businesses whose customers require a GST invoice to claim their own input credit
Anyone applying voluntarily to be able to claim input credit on purchases and capital goods
Businesses liable under reverse charge, including those paying rent on commercial property to an unregistered landlord
Anyone opening a branch or warehouse in another state, which needs its own registration
How long it takes
Three to seven working days where Aadhaar authentication is completed and the premises documents are consistent. Where the department issues a REG-03 clarification notice, add the time to respond plus a further review. Applications routed to physical verification take longest, and that route is usually triggered by skipping Aadhaar authentication.
If you do nothing
Operating above the threshold without registering does not stay invisible for long — the department reconciles against income tax returns, TDS data and the e-way bills your own transporters generate. When it surfaces, the liability is computed on your full turnover for the whole unregistered period with no input credit allowed against it, plus interest and penalty. That figure is routinely larger than the margin earned in the same period.
The law, in figures
Dates, thresholds and sections
Every figure below carries the provision it comes from, so it can be checked.
What
Figure
Source
Registration threshold, goods
₹40 lakh aggregate turnover in most states
Notification 10/2019-Central Tax
Registration threshold, services
₹20 lakh aggregate turnover
Section 22, CGST Act 2017
Threshold in special category states
₹20 lakh for goods and ₹10 lakh for services
Section 22(1), proviso
Time to apply after becoming liable
30 days from the date liability arises
Section 25(1), CGST Act 2017
Time to answer a REG-03 clarification notice
7 working days
Rule 9(2), CGST Rules 2017
Composition scheme limit
₹1.5 crore for goods, ₹50 lakh for services
Section 10, CGST Act 2017
What usually goes wrong
Waiting for the threshold when selling on a marketplace — platform sales require registration from the first sale, whatever the turnover
Applying with a rent agreement whose name does not match the applicant, which produces a clarification notice every time
Choosing composition while selling to registered businesses, who then cannot claim credit on your invoices
Registering in only one state while holding stock in a warehouse in another, which requires its own registration
Treating the threshold as per-state turnover when it is computed on aggregate all-India turnover on the same PAN
Letting the seven-day REG-03 window lapse and having to start the whole application again
What non-compliance costs
Failure to register where liable: 100% of the tax due, subject to a minimum of ₹10,000, under section 122(1)
Tax is payable on all supplies made while unregistered, without the benefit of input credit on the purchases behind them
Interest at 18% per annum on the tax that should have been paid, under section 50
Customers cannot claim input credit on invoices issued before registration, which is usually what ends the commercial relationship
These are statutory amounts, not our fees. What we charge depends on your situation and is quoted before any work starts.
Not to be confused with
These come up in the same conversation and are routinely treated as the same thing. They are not.
GST return filing
Registration is the one-off process of obtaining a GSTIN. Return filing is the monthly obligation that begins the moment you have one, and continues in every month including months with no sales.
Udyam registration
Udyam is the MSME registration, used for scheme benefits and payment-protection under the MSMED Act. It is unrelated to GST and neither one substitutes for the other.
Common questions
When do I have to register for GST?
Registration becomes compulsory once your annual turnover crosses ₹40 lakh for goods or ₹20 lakh for services in most states, including Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Some businesses must register from the first rupee no matter the turnover: anyone selling goods across state lines, anyone selling through an e-commerce platform, and casual taxable persons. Many businesses below the threshold register voluntarily, because without a GSTIN they cannot claim input tax credit and larger customers will not buy from them.
Can I cancel my GST registration if the business has stopped?
Yes, but every pending return must be filed first, and a final return in GSTR-10 is due within three months of cancellation. Simply abandoning a registration does not end the obligation — late fees continue to accrue against a dormant GSTIN, and the liability follows the proprietor or directors personally. Cancelling properly is much cheaper than leaving it.
A GSTIN is the fifteen-character number that identifies a business registered under GST, built from the state code, the holder's PAN and a check digit.
GST registration becomes compulsory once annual turnover crosses ₹40 lakh for goods or ₹20 lakh for services in most states, with lower limits in the special category states.
