New to GST and not sure which registration type applies to you? Start with our GST registration guide.
What an e-commerce operator is under GST
Section 24 of the CGST Act makes registration compulsory for every e-commerce operator, whatever its turnover. An operator that collects the consideration for supplies made through it must also collect tax at source at 0.5% on the net value of those taxable supplies under section 52, and file Form GSTR-8 by the 10th of the following month. The TCS registration is applied for in Form GST REG-07 and is separate from the normal GSTIN the operator holds for its own commission and services.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| E-commerce operator | A person who owns, operates or manages a digital or electronic facility or platform for electronic commerce. It is the platform, not the seller listed on it. |
| Section 52 TCS | 0.5% tax collected at source on the net value of taxable supplies made through the platform by other suppliers, being 0.25% CGST plus 0.25% SGST, or 0.5% IGST. The rate came down from 1% with effect from 10 July 2024. |
| GSTR-8 | Monthly return for an e-commerce operator, reporting the supplies made through it and the tax collected at source, due by the 10th of the following month. |
Are you an e-commerce operator, a deemed supplier, or a seller?
Three different sets of rules hide behind the word "e-commerce", and the right one depends on what your platform does with the money and the supply.
| You are | What that means | What you must do |
|---|---|---|
| An e-commerce operator who collects the consideration | You own, operate or manage the platform and the buyer pays you, not the seller | Register whatever your turnover, take a tax collector registration in Form REG-07 in each state, collect 0.5% tax at source on the net value of taxable supplies made through you by other suppliers, file GSTR-8 by the 10th |
| A deemed supplier under section 9(5) | Your platform supplies one of the notified service categories | You pay the GST on those supplies as if you were the supplier. No tax is collected at source on them |
| An e-commerce operator who does not collect the consideration | Listings or lead generation only, with the buyer paying the seller directly | Register whatever your turnover, but section 52 collection does not apply to you |
| A seller on someone else's platform | You supply through a marketplace | See "Sellers on your platform" below. Goods sellers normally register; small intra-state goods sellers may use the enrolment route instead |
Many platforms are in two boxes at once. A food-delivery platform is a deemed supplier for restaurant service and a collecting operator for anything else sold through it.
Section 9(5): where the platform pays the tax itself
For a short list of notified services, the law treats the operator as the supplier. You raise the tax, pay it and report it under your own registration, and you do not collect tax at source on those supplies. It is a section 9(5) deeming provision, not reverse charge.
The notified categories are:
- transport of passengers by radio taxi, motor cab, maxi cab and motor cycle;
- accommodation in hotels, inns, guest houses, clubs, campsites and similar places, where the person actually supplying it is not liable to register on turnover;
- house-keeping services such as plumbing and carpentry, on the same condition;
- restaurant service, other than from specified premises;
- from 22 September 2025, local delivery services supplied through the platform by suppliers who are not registered. These were also taken out of the goods transport agency scope from the same date.
The September 2025 change matters commercially: a platform using unregistered riders or drivers for local delivery now carries the tax on that leg itself.
TCS under section 52, calculated properly
Tax at source is 0.5% of the net value of taxable supplies, and the definition of that base is where money is won or lost.
- Rate: 0.5%, made up of 0.25% CGST and 0.25% SGST for an intra-state supply, or 0.5% IGST for an inter-state supply. It came down from 1% with effect from 10 July 2024.
- Base: the aggregate value of taxable supplies of goods or services made through the platform by other suppliers where you collect the consideration, reduced by supplies returned to those suppliers in the same month.
- Out of the base: your own supplies, and the section 9(5) services on which you pay tax yourself.
- Credit: the amount you collect appears in the supplier's electronic cash ledger once you file GSTR-8, and they use it to pay their own tax.
Collect too little and the shortfall plus interest at 18% a year under section 50(1) is yours to pay. Collect too much and you have an unhappy seller and a reconciliation problem, because the credit lands in their ledger and only they can claim it back.
The registration process
Four steps, and the classification at the front decides the rest.
- Classification. Determine whether you collect the consideration and so fall under section 52, whether any of your categories fall under section 9(5), and which states you need to register in.
- REG-07 for TCS, REG-01 for your own supplies. Form GST REG-07 for the tax collector registration in each state where you collect, plus Form GST REG-01 for the normal GSTIN that covers your own commission, advertising and logistics income.
- Invoicing and collection setup. We set out how the net value is to be computed for each category, what your settlement reports must show and how the monthly GSTR-8 will be prepared from them.
- Filing rhythm. GSTR-8 by the 10th of every month, with a reconciliation between your settlement reports and the return before it is filed.
We check every scan for name, address and signature mismatches before the application goes in.
Documents you will need
- Entity PAN, certificate of incorporation or partnership deed
- Authorised signatory PAN and Aadhaar, with the board resolution or authorisation letter
- Bank account proof
- Office address proof for each state applied for
- Platform details: the URL and the registered name it trades under
- A sample of your seller-onboarding documentation and a settlement report
- Seller GSTIN validation checklist for the sellers already on the platform
E-commerce operator GST registration fee
Our professional fee is ₹999 for the e-commerce operator registration. There is no government fee for any GST registration form.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Regikart professional fee, e-commerce operator registration (Form GST REG-07) | ₹999 |
| Government fee for Form GST REG-07 | No government fee |
| Government fee for Form GST REG-01, the operator's own normal GSTIN | No government fee |
| Additional states | On quote |
Professional fees exclude GST at 18%. Government fees, where they apply, are paid at actuals to the department and are shown separately. Fees verified on 22 September 2026.
Interest and late fees are not fees for the service. Tax collected and paid late carries interest at 18% a year under section 50(1), and a late GSTR-8 carries the statutory late fee. Both are paid to the government.
What is included: the classification check (section 52 collector, section 9(5) deemed supplier, or both), the state list, Form REG-07, the REG-06 certificate, a written note on how your settlement report maps to the GSTR-8 fields, and replies to any query the officer raises.
Forms, returns and dates for an operator
| Form | What it is for | When |
|---|---|---|
| GST REG-07 | Application for registration as a person required to collect tax at source | Before you begin collecting, in each state or union territory concerned |
| GST REG-06 | The registration certificate issued on approval | On approval |
| GST REG-01 | Normal registration for the operator's own commission, advertising and logistics income | Before those supplies begin |
| GSTR-8 | Monthly statement of supplies made through the platform and tax collected at source | 10th of the following month |
| GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B | The operator's own outward supplies and tax payment under its normal GSTIN | 11th and 20th of the following month |
If you stop being liable to collect tax, the tax collector registration can be cancelled; the officer may also cancel it. Keep the two registrations in step so a cancellation of one does not leave supplies unreported under the other. Every GST, income-tax and ROC date sits in our compliance calendar, and our GST return filing service covers GSTR-8 alongside GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B.
Sellers on your platform
Operators get asked this daily, so it is worth putting on the page.
- Goods sellers normally have to register, because supplying goods through an operator is one of the compulsory cases in section 24.
- Small intra-state goods sellers can use the enrolment route instead. From 1 October 2023, a person supplying goods through an operator is exempt from registration if aggregate turnover stays within the section 22 threshold, the person makes no inter-state supply, supplies through an operator in only one state or union territory, holds a PAN, declares PAN, business address and state on the common portal and is granted an enrolment number. No supply may be made before that enrolment number is granted, and only one enrolment number is allowed per state.
- Composition dealers may sell goods through a platform within their own state, since 1 October 2023. Supplying services through an operator that collects tax at source is still barred. See the composition scheme.
- Service sellers are not pushed into registration merely because they sell through a platform, as long as aggregate turnover stays within the threshold and the supply is not one of the section 9(5) categories.
Validate every seller GSTIN at onboarding and re-validate it when a seller's status changes. A cancelled GSTIN on your platform becomes your reconciliation problem in GSTR-8, not theirs.
Why Regikart for e-commerce operator registration
Regikart is a CA and CS firm serving 250+ clients from offices in Kolkata (head office), Delhi and Bengaluru. Every operator application is reviewed by a Chartered Accountant before filing.
- Classification first. Section 52, section 9(5) or both, decided against your actual payment flow rather than your industry label.
- State planning. We list the states where you need a tax collector registration before you launch, not after the first GSTR-8 is late.
- Fixed fee of ₹999 for the registration, with no government fee to add.
- One team afterwards: GSTR-8 and your own GST returns, the books, and any GST notice on TCS mismatches.
Not sure whether you are an operator under section 52, a deemed supplier under section 9(5), or both? Send us how your platform takes payment and what it sells, and a CA will tell you which registrations you need.