The turnover thresholds that make GST registration mandatory

GST registration is not optional once turnover crosses a line — Section 22 of the CGST Act^[1] makes it mandatory above a threshold that differs by what you supply and where you operate. The matrix above lays out the four-cell grid plus the separate category of suppliers who must register no matter how small they are. Aggregate turnover here means all-India, PAN-level taxable plus exempt supplies — not the turnover of a single branch.

For a supplier dealing exclusively in goods, the threshold is ₹40 lakh in normal-category states and ₹20 lakh in special-category states. For a supplier of services, or any mixed supply, the threshold is lower: ₹20 lakh in normal states and ₹10 lakh in special-category states. The ₹40 lakh goods threshold came in via CBIC Notification 10/2019-Central Tax^[3]; states could opt in or stay at ₹20 lakh, so a goods supplier should confirm their own state's adopted limit. "Special-category states" is the constitutional grouping that includes the North-Eastern states and certain hill states, which carry the lower thresholds.

Crossing the turnover line is not the only trigger. Section 24 of the CGST Act^[2] lists persons who must register regardless of turnover — even at ₹1 of turnover. These include anyone making an inter-state taxable supply of goods, e-commerce operators and the sellers who supply through them, persons liable to pay tax under reverse charge, casual taxable persons and non-resident taxable persons, input service distributors, and TDS/TCS deductors. A small trader who sells goods to another state, or who lists on an e-commerce marketplace, is in the compulsory-registration net from the first rupee.

The practical consequence is that the threshold question has two parts: am I over the turnover limit for my supply type and state, *and* do I fall into any Section 24 category that overrides the limit? Many first-year businesses register because of Section 24 (inter-state or e-commerce) long before their turnover would ever have required it. The companion CSV below carries the full grid — category, normal-state threshold, special-category threshold, and the governing provision — under CC-BY-4.0.