Chartered Accountant · ICAI M.No. 153926 · FRN 136869W
Threshold-based
Goods: ₹40 lakh (₹20 lakh special states). Services: ₹20 lakh (₹10 lakh some special states). Confirm your state’s limit.
Compulsory regardless of turnover
Inter-state supply, selling on e-commerce platforms, casual/non-resident supply, and reverse-charge liability all need registration from the start.
Aggregate turnover, and the compulsory cases
The threshold is tested on ‘aggregate turnover’ — the total of all supplies on the same PAN across India (taxable, exempt, exports and inter-state together), not the figure for a single shop or branch. So a business with two small outlets adds them up. Crossing the limit means applying within 30 days of becoming liable. Separately, a set of suppliers must register from the first rupee whatever their turnover: inter-state suppliers of goods, persons selling goods through an e-commerce platform, casual and non-resident taxable persons, those liable to pay under reverse charge, agents supplying on behalf of others, input service distributors, and anyone required to deduct TDS or collect TCS under GST. A useful nuance is that a pure service provider supplying inter-state still keeps the ₹20 lakh threshold in many cases — the no-threshold rule bites hardest on goods. If you’re unsure, the safe step is to total your PAN-wide turnover and check it against your state’s limit a little before you expect to cross, so the registration is in place before the first taxable supply rather than scrambled together afterwards.