Who is eligible for GST registration?

GST registration is the fundamental start to effectively managing your business. It helps establish your brand as reliable and authentic while enabling your enterprise to operate legally. A company must register as a regular taxable entity under GST rules if its annual turnover exceeds Rs. 40 lakh. Business owners in India must know about eligibility for GST registration to ensure legal compliance and avoid penalties. This article looks at the threshold limit, required documents, GST registration eligibility, and more.

Who must compulsorily register for GST?

In the following section, GST registration eligibility is detailed for various entities, including e-commerce operators, inter-state suppliers, and those involved in the import-export industry.

Casual taxable persons.
Non-resident casual taxable persons.
Persons making any inter-state taxable supplies.
Agents acting on behalf of a registered taxpayer.
E-commerce operators.
TDS/TCS deductors.
Persons conducting business in a state other than the one they are located in.
Persons who sell products on e-commerce sites such as Amazon and Flipkart.
Individuals working in the import-export industry.
Persons subject to reverse charge taxation.
Businesses registered under previous taxes such as VAT, excise, and service tax.
Individuals running an aggregator company.
Input Service Distributors.
OIDAR (Online Information Database Access and Retrieval) service providers in India.

Note: A person under GST who conducts trade and commerce anywhere in India and is registered/obliged to be registered under the GST Act qualifies as a "taxable person" under the GST.

What is the GST registration threshold limit?

A company's annual turnover must fit into one of the following criteria for an eligibility for GST registration:

The threshold limit is Rs. 40 lakh or higher for the manufacturing sector.
The service sector has a threshold of Rs. 20 lakh or higher.
The threshold limit is Rs. 10 lakh or more for particular category states.

Special Category States include Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, and Uttarakhand.

Jammu and Kashmir and Assam are two particular category states that chose to have a threshold limit of Rs.40 lakh for commodities.
Puducherry, a regular category state, opted for a threshold limit of Rs. 20 lakh for goods.

What qualifies as aggregate turnover under GST?

The total amount of profits made by a company registered under the same PAN is referred to as aggregate turnover. Profits constitute the sum of the following:

Taxable purchases
Exemption sales
Exports

Total turnover does not include:

Value of sales tax
Value of purchases subject to RCM taxation (reverse charge mechanism).

Which documents do you need?

The following documents are required for GST Registration eligibility:

Passport-size photographs
Identity proof (Aadhar Card/Driving License/Passport)
Proof of address for the office
Bank details (statement/canceled cheque /passbook)
Partnership deed for partnership firms
Certificate of Incorporation for Private Ltd Company/LLP/OPC

Who is not eligible for GST registration?

Some of the goods and services exempt from GST include:

Non-taxable goods like petrol and alcohol for human consumption are not subject to GST.
Goods supplied to SEZ developers, or Special Economic Zones fall under the GST exemption list.
Items included in the zero-rated list, meaning that their fixed tax rate is zero percent, are free from GST.
Transport facilities such as public transport, metered cabs, auto-rickshaws, metro, etc.
Shipping of farm produce and goods outside of India.
Transportation of goods where the total cost is less than Rs. 1500.
Governmental and foreign diplomatic services.

Businesses exclusively providing these products and services are exempted from the eligibility for GST registration.

Things to keep in mind before applying for GST Registration -

PAN is mandatory to obtain registration, as GST Registration numbers are PAN-based.
Casual/non-resident taxable persons must apply five days before starting their business.
Individuals shall apply for registration in each state where they are legally obliged to do so within thirty days of being liable for registration.

You can quickly obtain a GST Registration Number for your business through IndiaFilings.