Stage 1 · GST basics
GST-3: Do I Need a GST Number?
A mechanic, a rice mill, a printing press and a clinic: who must register for GST, who need not, and who should think twice about the 1% scheme.
What you will learn in GST-3
- The registration limits in Tamil Nadu (s. 22)
- What counts in aggregate turnover (s. 2(6))
- Who must register whatever the turnover (s. 24)
- The composition scheme and its catches (s. 10)
Chapters
- The turnover limits · ₹40 lakh for goods, ₹20 lakh for services, in Tamil Nadu (s. 22)
- What counts in turnover? · Murugan thinks his loose rice does not count (s. 2(6))
- Register whatever the turnover · Selling goods to another state changes everything (ss. 23, 24)
- The simple scheme · A flat 1% for small makers and traders, with strings attached (s. 10)
Key terms
- GSTIN (s. 22): The 15-character GST number a business gets when it registers. It starts with the state code (33 for Tamil Nadu) and contains the business’s PAN.
- Aggregate turnover (s. 2(6)): The total value of all your taxable, exempt and export sales and inter-state supplies, across India under the same PAN, without the GST.
Common questions
What is the GST registration limit in Tamil Nadu?
₹40 lakh of aggregate turnover a year for a business that supplies only goods, and ₹20 lakh for one that supplies services.
Do exempt sales count towards the limit?
Yes. Aggregate turnover includes exempt and nil-rated sales; only the GST itself is left out.
Who can use the composition scheme?
Makers and traders with aggregate turnover up to ₹1.5 crore who sell only within their state, at 1% of turnover. They cannot charge GST on bills or claim input tax credit.
CGST Act, 2017, ss. 2(6), 10, 22–24; rule 14A. Checked against the GST law in force on 8 November 2026. Selvi Garments, the school order and every figure in this lesson are fictional. Read the official text on the CBIC GST Acts and Rules page ↗ before applying it to real work.