Do Amazon sellers need GST registration from the first sale?

The short answer

Yes. If you sell goods through Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho or any marketplace that collects TCS, GST registration is compulsory from your first sale under Section 24(ix) of the CGST Act, 2017. The usual turnover thresholds do not apply to you, and marketplaces will not activate a seller account without a valid GSTIN.

Why the turnover threshold does not save you

GST registration normally works on turnover. Under Section 22 of the CGST Act, you become liable to register once your aggregate turnover in a financial year crosses a threshold. That is the rule most small businesses know — and it is the rule that does not apply to marketplace sellers.

Section 24 of the same Act lists categories of persons who must register regardless of turnover. Section 24(ix) covers any person who supplies goods or services through an electronic commerce operator that is required to collect TCS under Section 52. Amazon, Flipkart and Meesho are all such operators. So the moment you list a product on one of them, registration is mandatory — whether your sales that month are ₹5,000 or ₹5 lakh, and whether your annual turnover is ₹1 or ₹1 crore.

This is also why the platforms ask for your GSTIN during seller onboarding. It is not a platform policy you can negotiate around; it is the law, and the platform is simply enforcing it.

The thresholds — and who they actually protect

For completeness, here are the turnover thresholds that apply to businesses that are not in a compulsory-registration category.

Aggregate turnover is counted across India under the same PAN, and it includes taxable, exempt and export supplies. The ₹10 lakh limits apply in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura; the ₹20 lakh goods limit applies in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Puducherry, Sikkim, Telangana and Uttarakhand.

These numbers matter if you sell offline, from your own shop, or from your own website without a TCS-collecting marketplace in the middle. They do not matter once you sell through Amazon. A seller who waits to “cross ₹40 lakh first” while already selling on a marketplace is unregistered from day one.

Composition scheme vs regular scheme

New sellers often ask whether they can take the simpler composition scheme instead. For marketplace sellers, the answer is no.

Section 10(2)(d) of the CGST Act bars a supplier who makes supplies through an electronic commerce operator required to collect TCS under Section 52 from opting for the composition scheme. That leaves the regular scheme: you charge GST on your sales, claim input tax credit on your purchases and expenses, and file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B — monthly, or quarterly under the QRMP scheme if you are eligible.

The regular scheme is more work, but it is also the scheme that lets you claim the TCS Amazon deducts and the input tax credit on your purchases. The composition scheme would have given you neither.

The one limited exception — and why you should not assume it applies to you

CBIC Notification No. 34/2023-Central Tax, dated 31 July 2023, created a limited relaxation: composition-scheme dealers and small intra-state suppliers of goods below the turnover threshold may supply through e-commerce operators without mandatory registration, subject to specific conditions.

That exception is narrow, conditional, and easy to misread. It does not cover inter-state supplies, it does not cover every category of seller, and the conditions attached to it have been updated since. If you think you might qualify, check the current notification and your facts with a professional before you list a single product. Do not treat a headline about the exemption as permission.

What happens if you sell without registration

• Your seller account will not be activated. Amazon and Flipkart require a valid GSTIN at onboarding.
• TCS is still collected, but you cannot claim it. The platform deducts TCS on your sales; without a GSTIN there is no ledger and no return for the credit to reach.
• Your sales are unreported. Supplies made without registration are still taxable supplies, and the gap between your marketplace sales and your returns is exactly the kind of mismatch that draws a notice.

How to register

Registration is done online on the GST portal (gst.gov.in) through Form GST REG-01, with Aadhaar authentication. When you apply, the reason for registration for a marketplace seller is liability under Section 24 — not a turnover threshold. Keep your PAN, Aadhaar, proof of business address and bank account details ready, and make sure the GSTIN you receive is the one you enter on every marketplace account you hold. A mismatch between the GSTIN on your seller account and the GSTIN on your return is one of the most common reasons TCS credit goes missing.