Key takeaways
What this article covers, in order:
- GST registration limits: when turnover makes you liable
- Who must register regardless of turnover
- Documents required for GST registration
- The GST portal registration process, step by step
- How long GST registration takes
- GST portal fast-track registration: the Rule 14A scheme
You must register for GST once your aggregate turnover in a financial year crosses ₹40 lakh if you supply only goods, or ₹20 lakh if you supply services (or a mix), in most states. Some businesses must register from their first rupee of sales, whatever the turnover. You apply online on the GST portal in Form GST REG-01 within 30 days of becoming liable, and a straightforward application is normally approved within seven working days.
This guide walks through the limits, who has to register regardless of turnover, the documents to keep ready, each step on the GST portal, and the newer fast-track option for small businesses.
GST registration limits: when turnover makes you liable
- ₹40 lakh — for businesses engaged exclusively in supplying goods, in most states. This higher limit comes from Notification 10/2019-Central Tax, effective 1 April 2019.
- ₹20 lakh — for service providers, and for anyone supplying both goods and services.
- Lower limits in some states — the ₹40 lakh option does not cover intra-state suppliers in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura and Uttarakhand, where the goods limit stays at ₹20 lakh, and some special category states have a ₹10 lakh limit. State positions have been revisited over the years, so confirm the current limit with your state GST department before relying on the higher figure.
The ₹40 lakh exemption does not cover everyone who sells goods. The 2019 notification excludes suppliers of ice cream and other edible ice, pan masala, and tobacco and tobacco products, as well as anyone who has to register compulsorily. The rate changes of September 2025 (GST 2.0) did not alter these thresholds; the GST Council's own FAQ confirms the goods threshold was unchanged.
What counts as aggregate turnover
Aggregate turnover is calculated on your PAN across India, not per branch or per state. It includes taxable supplies, exempt supplies, exports and inter-state supplies between your own units under the same PAN. It excludes the GST itself. This is where many small businesses go wrong: exempt sales count towards the limit even though you charge no tax on them.
Who must register regardless of turnover
Section 24 of the CGST Act lists people who need a GSTIN even below the threshold. The main ones are:
- Businesses making inter-state supplies of goods. (Service providers making inter-state supplies below the threshold have been exempted by a separate notification.)
- Casual taxable persons and non-resident taxable persons, who must apply at least five days before starting business.
- Persons liable to pay tax under reverse charge.
- E-commerce operators, and suppliers selling through an e-commerce operator that collects tax at source. Small sellers of goods making only intra-state sales through such platforms have been given a conditional exemption, so check whether it covers you.
- Persons required to deduct TDS or collect TCS under GST, and Input Service Distributors.
- Agents supplying on behalf of other taxable persons.
- Suppliers of online information and database access services from outside India to unregistered persons in India.
You can also register voluntarily below the threshold. That makes sense if your customers are GST-registered businesses who want to claim input tax credit, or if you want to claim credit on your own purchases.
Documents required for GST registration
Keep scanned copies ready before you start; the portal times out and an incomplete Part B is the usual reason applications stall.
For every applicant
- PAN of the business (or of the proprietor), plus a mobile number and email address for OTPs.
- Proof of the principal place of business: for owned premises, a recent property tax receipt, municipal khata or electricity bill; for rented premises, the rent or lease agreement plus an owner document; for premises owned by a relative or shared, a consent letter or NOC from the owner along with the owner's proof.
- Bank account proof such as a cancelled cheque, bank statement or passbook first page. You can add this after registration (see below).
- Photograph of the proprietor, partners, directors or Karta, and of the authorised signatory.
- Aadhaar of the primary authorised signatory and promoters, if you opt for Aadhaar authentication (strongly recommended).
Additional documents by type of business
- Proprietorship — PAN and photograph of the proprietor.
- Partnership firm or LLP — partnership deed (or LLP agreement and registration certificate), PAN and photographs of partners, and proof of appointment of the authorised signatory. LLPs sign with a digital signature certificate (DSC).
- Private or public company — certificate of incorporation, company PAN, details of directors, and a board resolution authorising the signatory. Companies sign with a DSC.
- HUF, trust or society — PAN of the entity and the deed or registration certificate.
The GST portal registration process, step by step
- Part A on gst.gov.in. Go to Services, then Registration, then New Registration. Choose "Taxpayer", your state and district, and enter the legal name as per PAN, PAN, email and mobile number. Verify the OTPs. The portal validates your PAN with the income-tax database and gives you a Temporary Reference Number (TRN).
- Part B with the TRN. Log in with the TRN and fill in business details, promoters, authorised signatory, principal and additional places of business, the goods and services you deal in (HSN and SAC codes), and upload documents. Complete Part B before the TRN expires.
- Choose Aadhaar authentication. If you opt in, the authorised signatory and promoters receive an authentication link. Skipping it, or failing it, is the single biggest cause of delay (see the timelines below).
- Verify and submit. Sign with DSC (mandatory for companies and LLPs) or EVC. You receive an Application Reference Number (ARN) by email and SMS.
- Officer processing. The officer either approves the application or issues a notice in Form GST REG-03 asking for clarification or documents. You reply in Form GST REG-04 within seven working days of receiving that notice.
- Certificate. On approval you get your GSTIN and the registration certificate in Form GST REG-06, downloadable from the portal.
- Bank details. Under Rule 10A, if you did not give bank details during the application, add them within 30 days of registration or before filing your first GSTR-1, whichever is earlier. The portal blocks GSTR-1 without them, and registrations without bank details can be suspended.
How long GST registration takes
- Seven working days from submission is the normal approval window under Rule 9.
- Up to 30 days where you did not opt for Aadhaar authentication, where authentication failed, where the system flags the application for physical verification on risk parameters, or where the officer decides physical verification is needed. In these cases the officer verifies your premises before deciding.
- Deemed approval applies if the officer takes no action within the applicable period, or within seven working days of receiving your reply to a REG-03 notice.
GST portal fast-track registration: the Rule 14A scheme
Since 1 November 2025 there is an optional simplified route for small, low-risk applicants. Under Rule 14A of the CGST Rules, registration is granted electronically within three working days of the ARN, provided Aadhaar authentication succeeds.
- Eligibility — you self-assess that your output tax on supplies to registered persons will not exceed ₹2.5 lakh a month, counting CGST, SGST or UTGST, IGST and compensation cess together.
- How to opt in — answer "Yes" to the option for registration under Rule 14A in Form GST REG-01.
- Limit — only one Rule 14A registration per PAN in a state or union territory.
- Leaving the scheme — if your B2B output tax will exceed the limit, you must withdraw. Conditions include filing returns for a minimum period (at least one tax period for withdrawal applications filed on or after 1 April 2026; three months for those filed earlier), having all returns up to date, and having no pending amendment, cancellation or section 29 proceedings.
Worked example: a Pune designer who missed the mixed-supply rule
Ananya runs a sole proprietorship in Pune. She charges design fees for home interiors and also resells furniture she sources for clients. By 30 November 2026, her financial-year figures are:
- Design fees (services): ₹13.5 lakh
- Furniture resale (goods, all within Maharashtra): ₹5.8 lakh
- Aggregate turnover: ₹19.3 lakh
She assumed the furniture counted against a ₹40 lakh goods limit and the fees against a ₹20 lakh services limit, so she felt far from either. That is wrong on two counts. First, aggregate turnover is one number for her PAN, ₹19.3 lakh. Second, the ₹40 lakh limit applies only to businesses supplying goods exclusively; because she also supplies services, her limit is ₹20 lakh.
On 8 December 2026 she invoices a ₹90,000 design project. Her aggregate turnover becomes ₹20.2 lakh, crossing ₹20 lakh. Under section 25(1) she must apply within 30 days of becoming liable, so by about 7 January 2027. If she opts for Aadhaar authentication and her documents are in order, she can expect approval in about seven working days. Her output tax on sales to registered businesses is far below ₹2.5 lakh a month, so the Rule 14A route is also open to her if she wants the three-working-day timeline.
Her open question is what to do about invoices raised between 8 December and the date her GSTIN arrives. That depends on the effective date of registration, and it is worth agreeing the treatment with her CA before she issues the first tax invoices.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Leaving out exempt sales when checking the limit.
- Applying the ₹40 lakh limit when you also supply services.
- Uploading an address proof in a different name without a consent letter or NOC from the owner.
- Skipping Aadhaar authentication, which pushes the application into the 30-day physical-verification track.
- Choosing Rule 14A when your monthly B2B output tax will plainly exceed ₹2.5 lakh, then having to withdraw.
- Forgetting to add bank details after registration, which blocks GSTR-1.
hellobooks< / a > -helps-once-you-are-registered">How HelloBooks helps once you are registered
HelloBooks does not file the registration application for you; that happens on the GST portal. Where it helps is before and after. Your sales reports show running turnover for the financial year, so you can see the ₹20 lakh or ₹40 lakh line coming instead of finding out at year end. Once you have a GSTIN, HelloBooks puts it on your invoices, keeps HSN and SAC codes on the item master, calculates CGST, SGST and IGST, prepares GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B from your transactions, and the compliance calendar reminds you of due dates. Your CA can review everything before it is filed.
This is general information as of November 2026, not tax or legal advice. Check the GST portal, CBIC notifications or a qualified CA for your situation.
