Do I need GST registration?

Six questions. The tool applies the threshold for your state, the compulsory-registration list of Section 24, and the exemption most freelancers don't know exists — the one for inter-state and export services below ₹20 lakh.

Your state of business

What do you supply?

Expected aggregate turnover this year (₹)

All-India total of taxable + exempt + export supplies under your PAN.

I sell goods to other states (inter-state supply of goods) I have foreign clients (export of services) and want the zero-rating paperwork (LUT / refunds) I supply through an Indian e-commerce platform that collects TCS (Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, Urban Company…) I receive services on which I must pay GST under reverse charge (e.g. import of services from abroad, legal services, GTA) I am a casual/non-resident taxable person, an agent supplying on behalf of others, an ISD, or a TDS/TCS deductor

The rules this tool applies

Threshold (s.22): ₹20 lakh aggregate turnover for services (or mixed supplies); ₹10 lakh in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura; ₹40 lakh only for exclusive suppliers of goods in most states.
The exemption freelancers miss: inter-state supply of services normally forces registration (s.24) — but Notification 10/2017-Integrated Tax exempts service providers under the threshold. Export is an inter-state supply, so a freelancer with foreign clients and ₹15 lakh turnover is not compelled to register.
But LUT needs registration: zero-rated export paperwork (LUT, ITC refunds) is only available to registered persons — which is why many exporters register voluntarily.
Compulsory regardless of turnover (s.24): inter-state goods, casual/non-resident persons, reverse-charge recipients, agents, ISD, TDS/TCS deductors, and s.9(5)-type services via an Indian TCS-collecting platform. Other services via such platforms are exempt under the threshold (Notification 65/2017-CT).
Rule 14A fast-track (since 1 Nov 2025): if your output tax on B2B supplies stays within ₹2.5 lakh a month, registration is auto-granted within 3 working days after Aadhaar authentication.

Worked example

A Lucknow-based designer bills ₹16 lakh a year: ₹10 lakh from Indian clients in other states, ₹6 lakh from a US client. Total is under ₹20 lakh; inter-state services are exempt under Notification 10/2017-IT; so no registration is required. She registers anyway — voluntarily, via Rule 14A in three days — because she wants an LUT so her US invoices are documented as zero-rated exports and she can claim refund of the GST on her laptop and software. Registration then obliges her to charge 18% on the Indian clients. Same facts, two lawful choices; the tool shows both.

Edge cases to know

Aggregate turnover is all-India, per PAN — including exempt and export supplies, and all your businesses together.
Foreign platforms (Upwork, Fiverr): not Indian TCS-collecting operators, so the s.24 e-commerce clause generally doesn't bite — but practitioners differ; confirm with a CA.
Once registered, everything is taxable — you charge 18% on Indian clients from day one, and file returns even in zero months.
Composition (s.10(2A)): 6% flat up to ₹50 lakh for services — but not available if you make any inter-state or export supply, so most freelancers can't use it.
57th GST Council (postponed to 7 October 2026) has registration simplification for larger businesses on its agenda — nothing decided yet; we'll update.

Related tools

Export of services checker — the five zero-rating conditions and the LUT question.
Export invoice generator — LUT-ready invoices.
Guide: LUT & export of services.

Last verified: 15 September 2026 — thresholds (s.22), special-category list, Notifications 10/2017-IT and 65/2017-CT, Rule 14A and the composition conditions cross-checked across CBIC notification text and three independent sources · GST advice varies with facts — confirm with a CA before registering or not.