GST Registration

GST registration is governed by Sections 22 to 25 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and Rules 8 to 14A of the CGST Rules, 2017.

Who must register: every supplier whose aggregate turnover in a financial year exceeds ₹20 lakh (₹10 lakh in the special category States unless raised by notification) (s.22(1)). Suppliers exclusively of goods are exempt up to ₹40 lakh under Notification 10/2019-CT, except for intra-State supplies in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura and Uttarakhand. Section 24 lists persons who must register regardless of turnover, subject to exemption notifications under s.23(2).

When: within thirty days of becoming liable (s.25(1)); voluntary registration is allowed (s.25(3)).

Process: PAN validation in Part A of Form GST REG-01, then Part B with documents (Rule 8); approval within seven working days, or thirty days where physical verification applies (Rule 9); electronic grant within three working days under Rule 14A for eligible applicants.

Records: books and records are retained until seventy-two months from the due date of the annual return for that year (s.36).

Penalty for non-registration: ₹10,000 or the tax evaded, whichever is higher (s.122(1)(xi)).

GST registration is the compulsory enrolment of a business in the GST system under Sections 22 to 25 of the CGST Act 2017. Registration is mandatory for businesses whose aggregate turnover crosses the threshold notified under Section 22 — ₹20 lakh generally, a lower limit in the special category States, and ₹40 lakh for suppliers exclusively of goods outside the States the notification excludes — and for the categories listed under Section 24 that must register regardless of turnover: inter-state suppliers, casual taxable persons, e-commerce operators, input service distributors, and others. The registration is applied for on the GST portal under Rule 8 of the CGST Rules and granted with the GSTIN.

The registration is the business's identity in the tax system. It is what makes the tax charged on the invoice a lawful collection, what makes the input tax credit claimable under Section 16, and what makes the business visible to the buyers who will not trade with an unregistered supplier. For the businesses below the threshold, the registration is a choice — and the choice to register is usually the choice to deal with the registered buyers.

The cost of operating without the required registration is the demand arithmetic: the tax that was collected but never paid, the credit the buyers cannot claim on the unregistered supplier's invoices, and the penalty exposure under the Act. For the businesses above the threshold, there is no choice — only the timing and the correctness of the registration.

This service is for businesses that need to register or are deciding whether to. We determine the registration requirement under Sections 22 and 24, prepare the application under Rule 8 with the business, address and bank details, file on the portal, handle the queries and the physical verification, and keep the registration accurate through the amendments and the changes the business will make.