How to apply for GST registration online (2026)

GST registration is free on the government portal. You need it once turnover crosses the goods or services threshold, or earlier if section 24 of the CGST Act makes registration compulsory. The output is a GSTIN. The government does not charge a fee for that number.

Start with the table below. Most “do I need GST?” fights are threshold fights, not form fights.

These are the working Union limits under CGST Act s.22 as commonly applied (the 2019 structure). Confirm on gst.gov.in before you treat a near-threshold year as exempt. Mixed supplies generally follow the services limit.

Aggregate turnover is pan-India for the person, not one shop's till. Voluntary registration below the limit is allowed if you want input tax credit and a GSTIN for B2B buyers. Once registered, return and invoice duties apply even if turnover later dips.

Do not use a blog's “₹10 lakh for all north-east states” as a single line. The goods enhancement to about ₹40 lakh and the services ₹10 lakh pocket are not the same list of states. If you supply from a special-category state, read the portal's state list and s.22, not a WhatsApp chart.

CGST Act s.24 lists persons who must register even when turnover is below the s.22 table. Common triggers, in plain words:

• Making a taxable inter-state supply (with the exemptions the Act and notifications still give some small service suppliers)
• Supplying through an e-commerce operator who is required to collect TCS
• Being that e-commerce operator, in the cases the Act names
• OIDAR and other listed non-resident / casual taxable person situations

If any of those apply, do not wait to cross ₹40 lakh. Register first, then invoice. Casual and non-resident taxable persons have their own forms on the same portal.

There is no government fee to obtain GST registration on gst.gov.in or reg.gst.gov.in.

A chartered accountant or GST practitioner may charge for filling the form. That is a private fee. It is not a CBIC charge. Fake “GST registration consultants” who take money on a lookalike domain, or who ask you to share Aadhaar OTP on WhatsApp, are not the portal.

If someone quotes a “ministry fee” for GSTIN, walk away. Pay only what gst.gov.in itself shows at checkout, which for ordinary registration is nothing.

1. Open gst.gov.in and choose Register Now. New registration also runs at reg.gst.gov.in.
2. Complete Part A: PAN, state, email, mobile. Take the two OTPs. Note the Temporary Reference Number (TRN).
3. Complete Part B within the TRN validity: legal name as on PAN, trade name, constitution, principal place of business, additional places, promoter / partner / director details, authorized signatory, bank account, and goods or services (HSN / SAC).
4. Authenticate Aadhaar for the persons the form names, when the portal offers it.
5. Upload the documents listed for your constitution (see the list below).
6. Submit with DSC, E-sign, or EVC as the portal allows for that entity type.
7. Save the ARN (Application Reference Number) the portal emails and displays.
8. Track that ARN on the portal until a GSTIN is granted, a query is raised, or the application is rejected.

GSTIN is 15 characters: two-digit state code, ten-character PAN, one entity digit, a default letter, and a check digit. Display it at the principal place of business and on tax invoices once you are live.

After submit you live on the ARN, not on a verbal “it will come on Monday.”

Track ARN from the GST portal's registration / track application status service. Reply to a portal query inside the time the notice states. Silence on a query is how applications die.

Rule 14A (Notification 18/2025-Central Tax, from 1 November 2025) is an optional, system-based track. Some low-risk applicants who opt in and pass Aadhaar authentication may see electronic grant in three working days. That is not a promise for every trader, every HSN, or every flagged premises. If the system does not put you on that track, wait for officer action on the same ARN. Do not pay anyone to “convert” you into Rule 14A.

If the portal stays mute, raise a ticket on the GST helpdesk / self-service channel first. Keep the ticket number. Then use RTI.

Typical uploads. The exact list follows constitution of business on the portal.

• PAN of the business or of the proprietor
• Aadhaar of proprietor, partners, or directors, as the form asks
• Photograph of the promoter / authorized signatory
• Proof of principal place of business: electricity bill, property tax receipt, or rent / consent letter with the owner's document
• Bank account proof: cancelled cheque, passbook, or statement in the name of the entity or proprietor
• Partnership deed, Certificate of Incorporation and MoA / AoA, or other constitution proof
• Authorization / board resolution for the signatory, where the entity is not a sole proprietor

PAN must exist first. Many new firms also take Udyam MSME in the same week; that is a separate free portal.

• Paying for “GSTIN in 24 hours” on a site that is not gst.gov.in.
• Using a rented-room electricity bill in another person's name without a consent letter.
• Mismatch between PAN legal name and Aadhaar spelling, so Aadhaar authentication fails.
• Entering a savings account that the portal will not accept for that constitution.
• Picking random HSN codes to “look busy.” Officers query junk HSN lists.
• Ignoring a portal query and assuming the ARN is still moving.
• Believing Rule 14A 3-day grant is a right for every applicant.

In an illustrative scenario, a kirana owner pays a typing shop a private fee labelled as a government GST charge. The shop files on a lookalike page and disappears. The ARN does not exist on gst.gov.in. File again yourself. The Union fee is still zero.

The Public Information Officer sits in the jurisdictional GST Commissionerate (Central) or the State GST office that the ARN shows. Use the office named on the portal query, not a random Delhi address.

Apply under RTI Act 2005 s.6(1). The PIO must reply in 30 days under s.7(1). First appeal is s.19(1).

State fee: RTI fees by state. Central GST RTI follows the Central rules. Portal directory: state RTI portals.

1. Status of GST registration ARN ______ dated ______ in the name of ______.
2. Name, designation, and office of the officer presently holding the application.
3. Copy of risk flags, physical-verification order, and file notings.
4. Copy of any REG query or rejection order, with the date it was issued on the portal.
5. Whether Rule 14A or ordinary processing applies to this ARN, as recorded in the system.
6. The pending deficiency, if any, and the date of the next action.

Draft with AI RTI Drafter. If s.7(1) is missed, First Appeal Builder. Background: The RTI Playbook. Refunds after you are registered are a different form family: GST refund status.

Register only on gst.gov.in (or reg.gst.gov.in). Finish Part A, then Part B, then store the ARN. Longer sibling walkthrough: apply GST registration.

GSTIN is the 15-character Goods and Services Tax Identification Number allotted after registration. It is built on your PAN and state code. Quote it on invoices once the portal shows the registration as active.

For exclusive supply of goods in normal states, the working s.22 limit is about ₹40 lakh. Services sit at about ₹20 lakh (about ₹10 lakh in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura). Mixed supplies generally follow the services limit. Confirm on the portal if your case is close.

Composition is a separate opt-in for eligible small taxpayers, with a lower tax structure and no input tax credit. It is not automatic with GSTIN. Opt in on the same GST portal if you qualify. Confirm current rates and forms there. Do not mix composition invoices with regular ITC claims.

Use Track Application Status on gst.gov.in with the ARN. Save every query PDF. Status labels change; the ARN is the durable handle.

Yes. There is no government fee for GSTIN. Any amount you pay is to a private helper, not to CBIC.

Yes, voluntarily, if you want a GSTIN and are ready for returns. s.24 cases must register even below the table.

• Apply GST registration
• GST refund status
• Udyam MSME registration
• How to apply for PAN
• All how-to-apply guides
• AI RTI Drafter
• The RTI Playbook

• FSSAI licence apply FoSCoS

• Trade licence apply municipal corporation
• GST Registration Rejected: REG-03 and REG-04 Recovery

• GST portal
• GST registration (reg.gst.gov.in)
• CBIC GST
• RTI Act, 2005

Reviewed for RTI Wiki by Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak.