What the waiver is
Since 1 October 2023, a small seller of goods can sell through an e-commerce operator without GST registration. An e-commerce operator is a marketplace that collects tax at source, or TCS, on your sales. The rule is CBIC Notification No. 34/2023-Central Tax, dated 31 July 2023. Before it, every seller on a marketplace had to register, however small. The GST Council backed the change in 2022, which is why some older articles give that year.
Who qualifies
The waiver covers sellers of goods whose turnover stays under their state's registration limit. That test applies to both the last financial year and the current one. For a business that only sells goods, the limit is ₹40 lakh in most states. It is ₹20 lakh in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura and Uttarakhand. You also need a PAN.
The conditions, step by step
- Sell only inside your own state, with no inter-state supply of goods at all.
- Sell through e-commerce operators in one state or union territory only.
- Before your first sale, declare your PAN, business address and state on the GST common portal.
- Wait for your enrolment number, and sell nothing through a marketplace until you have it.
- Keep to one enrolment number in each state or union territory.
What it does not cover
Services are not part of this rule. People who supply services through an e-commerce operator have a separate, older exemption, under Notification No. 65/2017-Central Tax. It applies while all-India turnover stays within ₹20 lakh, or ₹10 lakh in some special category states. For goods, the waiver ends the moment you sell to a buyer in another state. Cross your state's limit and you register in the normal way. Once you get a GSTIN, your enrolment number stops being valid.
Your own website is a different case
The waiver is about selling through an e-commerce operator. Your own website is not one, and the GST Council notes that TCS does not apply when you sell your own products there. So the normal rules apply. You register once turnover crosses your state's limit. If you ship goods to other states, you usually need to register from the start, whatever your turnover. Handicraft sellers have their own relief, so check that if it fits you.
Check before you rely on it
The conditions are strict, and they apply for as long as you use the waiver, not just on day one. Before you decide not to register, check your turnover, the states you ship to and what you sell. A CA can confirm your case in one short conversation. This post explains the rule, not your personal position.
Stay ready either way
Whether you register now or later, build clean, GST-ready records from the start. The Storemate keeps GST-correct invoicing ready to switch on, so crossing the threshold later is a setting change, not a scramble. This is a starting point, not tax advice; confirm your own case with a professional.