GST registration, step by step

Who must register for GST?

You must register when your aggregate turnover in a financial year crosses ₹40 lakh if you supply goods, or ₹20 lakh if you supply services. In the special category states (the north-eastern states, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir for services) the limit is ₹10 lakh. Aggregate turnover means all taxable, exempt and export supplies under one PAN across India, so a founder running two proprietorships adds them together.

Some businesses must register from the first rupee, regardless of turnover:

• Sellers on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart or Meesho.
• Anyone making inter-state supplies of goods.
• Businesses liable to pay tax under reverse charge, casual taxable persons and non-resident taxable persons.
• Input service distributors and agents supplying on behalf of others.

Service providers supplying inter-state are exempt from compulsory registration until ₹20 lakh, a relief that many freelancers miss. You can also register voluntarily below the threshold, which makes sense when your customers are businesses that want input credit or when you want to claim credit on your own purchases. Our GST Registration page has a two-minute check that tells you which case you are in.

Should you choose the regular scheme or composition?

Choose the regular scheme if you sell to other businesses, sell across state lines, sell online or expect to grow past ₹1.5 crore. Choose composition only if you sell locally to consumers and want minimal filing.

The composition scheme is open to traders and manufacturers with turnover up to ₹1.5 crore and to service providers up to ₹50 lakh. Tax is paid at a flat rate on turnover: 1% for traders and manufacturers, 5% for restaurants and 6% for services. In exchange you cannot collect GST from customers, cannot claim input credit, cannot make inter-state sales and cannot sell through e-commerce operators. Filing is a quarterly payment (CMP-08) and one annual return (GSTR-4).

The regular scheme charges GST at the rate applicable to your supply, which since the September 2025 rationalisation is mainly 5% or 18%, with 40% on a short list of luxury and sin goods and nil on essentials. Most services are at 18%. You claim credit on business purchases and file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B monthly, or quarterly under QRMP if turnover is up to ₹5 crore.

For a full side-by-side, read Regular GST vs Composition Scheme.

What documents do you need?

The GST portal asks for proof of the business, the place of business and the people behind it. Prepare these as clear PDFs or JPEGs under the portal's size limits before you start.

Business proof

• PAN of the business (the owner's PAN for a proprietorship).
• Certificate of incorporation for a company or LLP, or the partnership deed for a firm.
• Board resolution or authorisation letter naming the authorised signatory.

Place of business

• Electricity bill, property tax receipt or municipal khata copy for the premises.
• Rent agreement plus a no-objection letter from the owner if rented, or a consent letter if a family member owns it.

People

• PAN, Aadhaar and a photograph of each promoter, partner or director and of the authorised signatory.
• The signatory's mobile number and email for OTPs; Aadhaar-linked mobile makes authentication instant.

Bank

• A cancelled cheque or the first page of the bank statement showing the account holder's name and IFSC. Bank details can be added after registration within 30 days, which helps a new company that is still opening its account.

A digital signature is required for companies and LLPs; proprietors and partners can sign with an Aadhaar OTP.

How does the online application work?

The application is Form GST REG-01 on the GST portal and is filed in two parts.

Part A takes your PAN, mobile number and email, verifies them by OTP, and issues a Temporary Reference Number (TRN) valid for 15 days.

Part B is the full application, filled using the TRN across ten tabs: business details, promoters and partners, authorised signatory, principal place of business, additional places, goods and services (HSN and SAC codes), state-specific information, Aadhaar authentication, and verification. You upload the documents against each tab, choose whether you want composition, and pick the date from which you are liable.

The Aadhaar authentication tab matters. If the authorised signatory and at least one promoter authenticate successfully, the application is processed within 7 working days without a physical visit. If authentication fails or is skipped, the department can conduct a site verification and the timeline stretches to 30 days.

After submission you receive an Application Reference Number (ARN) to track status. The officer either approves, issues a query in REG-03 (you have 7 working days to reply in REG-04) or rejects with reasons. Approval produces the 15-digit GSTIN and the registration certificate in REG-06.

Which mistakes get an application rejected or queried?

Queries in REG-03 almost always concern the place of business or the signatory. The common ones:

• Address proof does not match the application. The electricity bill is in a different name or the pin code differs. Attach the rent agreement and NOC that connect the owner to your business.
• Residential address used without consent. Working from home is fine, but attach the owner's consent letter and the utility bill.
• Wrong HSN or [SAC code](/glossary/sac-code/), or a vague trade name. Pick the codes that match your invoices; changing them later needs an amendment.
• Authorised signatory not on the board resolution. For a company the resolution must name the exact person signing.
• Aadhaar authentication skipped. The officer then schedules a physical verification, which adds weeks.
• PAN already linked to a GSTIN in that state. A second registration in the same state needs a separate business vertical.

A rejection means starting over with a new TRN, and the department may look harder at the second application. Replying to a query on time, with the exact document asked for, keeps the original application alive.

What must you do once you have a GSTIN?

Registration starts a filing cycle immediately, even if you have no sales yet.

• Display the certificate and GSTIN at the place of business and on the signboard.
• Issue tax invoices in the prescribed format, with GSTIN, invoice number series, HSN or SAC code, the tax rate and the CGST and SGST or IGST split. The GST Calculator gives the split for any amount.
• Add bank details on the portal within 30 days if you skipped them.
• File GSTR-1 (outward supplies) by the 11th of the next month and GSTR-3B (summary and payment) by the 20th, or opt into QRMP for quarterly filing with monthly payment if turnover is up to ₹5 crore. Composition dealers file CMP-08 quarterly.
• Reconcile input credit against GSTR-2B every month before claiming.
• File the annual return [GSTR-9](/glossary/gstr-9/) by 31 December if turnover exceeds ₹2 crore.

A nil return is still a return. Late fees run at ₹50 per day per return (₹20 for nil returns) with caps, and 18% interest applies to tax paid late. Our GST Filing service handles the monthly cycle from the first return.

How do you amend, cancel or add a place of business?

Most changes are made on the portal in Form REG-14. Core fields (legal name, principal place of business, promoters and partners) need officer approval and are usually processed within 15 working days. Non-core fields (bank account, email, mobile, additional places of business within the state, HSN codes) update on submission.

If you open a branch or warehouse in another state, you need a separate GSTIN in that state, because registration is state-wise under one PAN. A single company in Maharashtra and Karnataka therefore holds two GSTINs and files two sets of returns.

Cancellation is applied for in REG-16 when you close the business, fall below the threshold and choose to opt out, or change constitution (for example a proprietorship becoming a company, which needs a fresh registration for the new PAN). File all pending returns and pay tax on closing stock before applying. The department can also cancel a registration on its own if returns are not filed for six months (two quarters under QRMP), and revocation must be sought within 90 days. A cancelled GSTIN that is not properly closed keeps generating notices, so treat cancellation as a filing, not an afterthought.