Selling on Amazon, Flipkart, or Meesho? In most cases, GST registration is mandatory from your very first sale — not after you cross Rs 40 lakh in turnover. Section 24(ix) of the CGST Act, 2017 requires anyone supplying goods through an e-commerce operator to register for GST, which is why every major marketplace asks for a GSTIN during seller onboarding. There is one narrow exception, introduced in October 2023, for small sellers who ship only within their own state — we cover exactly who qualifies below.
This guide is written from the registration cases our CA team handles every week for marketplace sellers across India. It covers who needs GST, the documents that actually get approved, the exact portal process, the multi-state problem that catches Amazon FBA sellers off guard, and the mistakes behind most rejections.
Do e-commerce sellers need GST registration?
Yes — if you sell taxable goods through an online marketplace, GST registration is compulsory regardless of turnover. Section 24 of the CGST Act removes the normal threshold exemption in two situations that apply to almost every online seller:
Selling through an e-commerce operator: Section 24(ix) makes registration mandatory for anyone supplying goods through platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, or Meesho.
Inter-state supply: Section 24(i) requires registration the moment you ship goods to a buyer in another state — which online selling almost always involves.
Marketplaces enforce this at onboarding. Amazon and Flipkart verify your GSTIN before letting you list taxable products, and every sale is then reported against that GSTIN through the platform's TCS returns — so the tax department can see marketplace sales even if a seller tries to stay unregistered.
One clarification: if you supply certain notified services through platforms — restaurant food through Zomato, for example — different rules under Section 9(5) apply, where the platform itself pays the tax. This guide focuses on sellers of goods.
The one exception: small sellers shipping within their own state
Since 1 October 2023, an unregistered seller can supply goods through an e-commerce operator without a GSTIN — but only inside the tight conditions laid down by Notification No. 34/2023–Central Tax:
Your annual turnover stays below the registration threshold for your state (Rs 40 lakh for goods in most states).
You make only intra-state supplies — every single order ships to a buyer within your own state.
You sell from one state or Union Territory only.
You declare your PAN and obtain an enrolment number on the GST portal before you start selling.
In practice, Meesho has built onboarding for these non-GST sellers, while Amazon and Flipkart still require a GSTIN for taxable goods. The marketplace must also block your orders from shipping to other states, which caps your growth. For most serious sellers this exception is a stepping stone at best — the moment you want pan-India orders, you need full GST registration.
GST requirements by marketplace (2026)
Platform policies change, so always confirm on the marketplace's current seller onboarding page. As of early 2026, the picture looks like this:
Platform | GSTIN needed for taxable goods? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Amazon India | Yes | GSTIN verified at onboarding; only GST-exempt categories (e.g., unbranded books) can be sold without it. |
Flipkart | Yes | GSTIN mandatory for taxable goods; exempt categories are the only carve-out. |
Meesho | Not always | Supports non-GST sellers for intra-state orders under the October 2023 rules, using a GST enrolment ID. |
Your own website | Depends | Registration needed once you cross the threshold or make any inter-state supply. |
The pattern is clear: a GSTIN is the default ticket to online selling in India, and the exceptions are narrow.
Documents required for GST registration
Keep these ready before you touch the portal — in our experience, roughly nine out of ten delays trace back to document problems, not portal problems.
PAN card of the proprietor (or of the company/LLP)
Aadhaar card of the proprietor, partners, or directors
Passport-size photograph
Bank proof — cancelled cheque, bank statement, or the first page of your passbook
Principal place of business proof — electricity bill or property tax receipt if owned; rent agreement plus the owner's NOC and utility bill if rented
Additional documents for companies and LLPs
Certificate of Incorporation
Board resolution or authorisation letter for the authorised signatory
Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) of the authorised signatory
For sellers storing stock in other states
If you plan to keep inventory in Amazon FBA or Flipkart fulfilment centres in other states, you will need a place of business in each of those states. Most sellers solve this with a virtual place of business — a GST-compliant registered address with the documentation officers expect — instead of renting physical premises in every state.
How to register for GST online: step-by-step
The application is Form GST REG-01, filed free of cost on the government's GST portal. Here is the exact sequence:
Start Part A of REG-01. Go to Services > Registration > New Registration, enter your PAN, mobile number, and email, and verify both with OTPs.
Note your TRN. The portal issues a Temporary Reference Number — use it to log back in and open Part B of the form.
Fill Part B. Add business details, promoter or partner details, principal place of business, your top goods with HSN codes, and bank details, then upload the documents.
Complete Aadhaar authentication. This is the single biggest time-saver — successful authentication usually avoids physical verification of your premises.
Submit with EVC or DSC. You receive an Application Reference Number (ARN) to track the status.
Respond to queries fast. If the officer raises a clarification in Form REG-03, reply in Form REG-04 within seven working days, or the application gets rejected.
Receive your GSTIN. Approval comes with the REG-06 certificate; the 15-digit GSTIN encodes your state code and PAN.
Realistic timeline: about 7 working days with successful Aadhaar authentication, and up to 30 days if the officer orders physical verification of your premises.
Selling from multiple states? One GSTIN is not enough
Your GSTIN is state-specific. It lets you sell pan-India, but you can only stock and dispatch goods from the state where you are registered. The moment you enrol in Amazon FBA or Flipkart's warehouse network, your inventory sits in other states — and each of those states requires its own GST registration.
That is exactly the problem a VPOB for Amazon and Flipkart sellers solves: it gives you a compliant principal place of business in the new state, and the marketplace warehouses are then added as Additional Places of Business (APOB) on that registration. Sellers typically start with two or three high-volume warehouse states — Karnataka, Haryana, Maharashtra — and expand as sales grow.
What happens after you get your GSTIN
TCS credit: Marketplaces deduct 0.5% TCS (reduced from 1% with effect from 10 July 2024) on your net taxable sales and deposit it against your GSTIN through their GSTR-8 returns. It is not a cost — the amount lands in your electronic cash ledger and offsets your GST payments, but only if you accept it on the portal each month.
Returns: You must file GSTR-1 (outward supplies) and GSTR-3B (summary and payment) every month, or quarterly under the QRMP scheme if turnover is up to Rs 5 crore. NIL returns are compulsory even for months with zero sales — missed NIL returns are the most common source of late fees we see with new sellers.
Reconciliation: Issue GST-compliant invoices with correct HSN codes, and reconcile marketplace settlement reports against your GSTR-1 every month so small mismatches never snowball into notices.
Common reasons GST applications get rejected
From the rejection cases that land on our desk, these six cover almost everything:
Address proof mismatch — the utility bill name or address does not match the rent agreement or the application
Missing NOC when the premises belong to a relative or landlord
Name mismatch between PAN records and the application form
Blurry or cropped document uploads that officers cannot verify
Skipped or failed Aadhaar authentication, which triggers slow physical verification
Late or incomplete replies to a REG-03 clarification notice
None of these are fatal — you can fix the issue and reapply — but each rejection typically costs two to three weeks of selling time.
