GST Registration for Online Sellers 2026

The ordinary GST threshold does not usually help a marketplace seller. Section 24 lists categories of person required to register regardless of turnover, and clause (ix) covers persons supplying goods or services through an e-commerce operator who is required to collect tax at source.

The practical effect for years has been that a seller listing on Amazon or Flipkart needed a GSTIN from day one, even at very small volumes. That is why platform onboarding asks for it before a listing goes live.

The 56th GST Council meeting of 3 September 2025, which produced the GST 2.0 reforms effective 22 September 2025, included trade facilitation measures alongside the rate rationalisation.

Two matter here. An automated registration process for low-risk applicants took effect from 1 November 2025, materially shortening the wait. And a simplified registration route was announced for small suppliers selling through e-commerce platforms, intended to relieve them of taking multiple state registrations purely because platform logistics move their stock.

The direction of travel is toward lower friction for small sellers. What has not changed is that the position is fact-specific, so a seller should confirm their own case rather than assume either the old default or the new relief applies.

GST registration is state-wise. Where a seller stores stock in a fulfilment centre in another state and supplies are made from there, a registration in that state is generally required, because the place from which the supply is made determines the location of the supplier.

This is what turns a single-state seller into a multi-registration compliance exercise the moment they opt into a marketplace's fulfilment programme. Each additional registration brings its own GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and TCS credit acceptance, which is where the compliance burden actually multiplies.

In most cases yes, because Section 24(ix) of the CGST Act requires registration for suppliers making taxable supplies through an e-commerce operator without the ordinary threshold benefit. A simplified route for small suppliers was announced with the GST 2.0 reforms, so confirm your own position before assuming either way.

Generally yes, where supplies are made from stock stored in that state, because GST registration is state-wise and the location from which supply is made determines the supplier's location. This is why opting into a marketplace fulfilment programme frequently converts a single registration into several.

An automated registration process for low-risk applicants took effect from 1 November 2025, which has shortened timelines considerably for straightforward applications. Cases flagged for physical verification or carrying document mismatches still take longer, and a name or PAN inconsistency is the usual cause of delay.

The composition scheme is generally not available to a supplier making supplies through an e-commerce operator required to collect tax at source. Sellers who registered under composition for an offline business and then start listing online should review their position before they begin, not afterwards.

Update the rate on the listing, on the invoice template and in the books at the same time. The reforms effective 22 September 2025 moved a very large number of goods between slabs, and a catalogue where these three do not agree produces a GSTR-1 to GSTR-3B difference every month until it is corrected.