"GST and selling online: the basics"
GST rules for small online sellers depend on your specific turnover, state and platform, so treat this as orientation only and confirm details with a CA.
For a founder moving from casual DM sales to a proper online store, GST is usually one of the first sources of genuine confusion, partly because the rules depend on specifics - your turnover, your state, which platforms you sell through, what you sell - that vary from brand to brand. This is meant as general orientation to help you understand what questions to ask, not as a substitute for advice from a qualified chartered accountant who knows your specific situation.
Why this varies so much from brand to brand
GST registration and compliance requirements for a small business depend on several factors at once: your annual turnover, whether you sell across state lines, whether you sell through marketplaces that have their own compliance requirements for sellers, and what category of product you sell, since some categories are treated differently from others. Because of this, a rule of thumb that applies to one small brand may not apply to another, even if both look similar from the outside. This is precisely why a conversation with a CA early on is worth the time and modest cost, rather than relying on general advice - including this post - as a final answer.
What tends to differ between selling channels
Marketplaces often have their own GST-related requirements for sellers listing on their platform, sometimes requiring registration regardless of turnover, because of how the platform itself is structured for tax purposes. Selling through your own store can have different requirements depending on your turnover and whether you sell across state lines. This is one more reason it is worth discussing your specific setup - which channels you sell through, and in what combination - directly with a CA rather than assuming the same rule applies everywhere you sell.
Recordkeeping matters regardless of registration status
Even before working out exact registration requirements, keeping clear records of every sale - what was sold, at what price, to which state - puts you in a much stronger position when you do sit down with a CA, and makes any eventual registration or filing process considerably smoother. This is another place where a proper store helps quietly: an automatic, structured record of every order is far easier to hand to an accountant than reconstructing sales history from WhatsApp chats and UPI payment notifications, a gap covered in WhatsApp orders are great, until they aren't.
Pricing and invoicing considerations
If you do become liable to charge GST, this affects how you price your products and what you show on an invoice to a customer, and it is worth thinking through alongside your broader pricing strategy rather than as an afterthought - see price anchoring for small Indian brands for more on pricing decisions generally. A CA can advise specifically on whether your prices should be shown as inclusive or exclusive of tax, and how this should be reflected for customers paying via UPI versus Cash on Delivery.
When to actually consult a CA
Rather than waiting until compliance becomes urgent, it is worth having an initial conversation with a CA as soon as you move from casual, occasional sales to a genuine, ongoing business - a transition covered in from hobby to brand: when to take the leap. Even a single consultation early on can clarify what applies to your specific situation and prevent surprises later, which is far less stressful than addressing compliance questions after they have already become urgent.
| Order | Customer | Item | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example A | Customer A | Product A | Confirmed |
| Example B | Customer B | Product B | Shipped |
What this post is not
This is deliberately not a source of specific thresholds, rates, or filing deadlines, because those details depend on your specific circumstances and can also change over time. Treat this as a starting orientation - enough to know what questions matter - rather than a checklist to follow without professional advice.
A practical next step
If you have not yet had a conversation with a CA about your specific selling setup, that is worth prioritising before scaling up significantly, particularly if you are selling across multiple states or through several channels at once. In the meantime, keeping clean, structured records of every sale - something a proper store does automatically - puts you in the best possible position once you do have that conversation. Early access can help you set up a store that keeps these records for you from day one.