Chartered Accountant · ICAI M.No. 153926 · FRN 136869W
When it's required
Above ₹20 lakh receipts, or from the start if you serve clients in other states or through a platform. Note: services to clients in another state count as inter-state.
Why some register early
To claim input credit on expenses and to issue proper tax invoices that business clients prefer. Our freelancer GST service handles it.
Inter-state services and exports
The catch for freelancers is the inter-state rule: a service supplied to a client in another state is an inter-state supply, and while a service provider keeps the ₹20 lakh threshold, crossing it means charging IGST to out-of-state clients. Export of services — billing a foreign client and receiving payment in convertible foreign exchange — is a zero-rated supply, which lets you either supply under a LUT without paying tax or pay and claim a refund, but you still need registration once over the threshold (and often earlier to file the LUT). Registering voluntarily before the limit has trade-offs: you can claim input credit on laptops, software and co-working costs and issue tax invoices that corporate clients prefer, but you then take on monthly filing even in lean months. For platforms and app stores, the place-of-supply and OIDAR rules can complicate things, so the treatment depends on who the client is and where they are. Mapping your client base — domestic versus export, which states — before you cross ₹20 lakh is what decides whether and when to register, and whether a LUT is worth filing early.