GST Registration Fees: Government Fee vs CA Charges

The government fee is nil

GST registration is applied for in Form REG-01 on gst.gov.in. The CGST Act and Rules prescribe no fee for it, and there is no payment step in the form. That is true for a first registration, for a second registration in another state, for a separate registration for another business vertical in the same state, and for voluntary registration below the threshold.

Two special cases involve money but not a fee. A casual taxable person and a non-resident taxable person must deposit an advance amount equal to their estimated tax liability before the registration becomes active. That is tax paid in advance, credited to the cash ledger and used against the actual liability, not a charge for registering. The casual taxable person guide explains how it is worked out.

What you may actually pay for

A proprietor with owned premises who files the application personally pays nothing at all. The list of uploads is in our documents checklist, and the steps in the online registration walkthrough.

Professional charges: what the fee should cover

Quotes from professionals range widely, and the headline number is less useful than what it includes. The form itself takes under an hour. The work is in what happens around it. A fair quote should say whether it covers:

• Reviewing documents before upload, especially name and address consistency, which is where most rejections come from.
• Replying to a REG-03 query within the seven working days allowed. A registration that is rejected because nobody answered the query has to be applied for again from scratch.
• Aadhaar authentication or the biometric appointment, if the application is routed to a GST Suvidha Kendra.
• Adding bank details after approval, which Rule 10A requires within 30 days.
• Additional places of business, which add uploads and sometimes a separate query.
• The first few returns, if you want them. Many packages bundle registration with a period of return filing, which is where the real recurring cost lies.

Ask also who controls the login. The username and password are created on the signatory's mobile and email. If a service provider registers you with its own email or phone number, every OTP and notice goes to them.

Other registration services that are also free

• Amendment of core fields (REG-14) and non-core fields — see GST registration amendment.
• Cancellation (REG-16) and revocation of a cancellation (REG-21) — see cancellation and revocation.
• Downloading the registration certificate (REG-06) — see how to download it.
• Checking application status by ARN — see ARN status check.

Cancellation is free to apply for, but it is not free. Input tax credit on stock held and on capital goods has to be reversed through the final return, GSTR-10. That is often the largest number anywhere in a registration's life.

The cost of not registering

If your aggregate turnover crosses the threshold, or you fall into a compulsory category such as inter-state supply of goods or selling through an e-commerce operator, the registration obligation applies whether or not you act on it. The thresholds are set out in the turnover limit guide. Not registering leads to:

• Tax on every taxable supply from the date liability arose, even though you never charged GST to your customers. It comes out of your margin.
• Interest on that tax from its due date.
• A penalty under Section 122 of ₹10,000 or the tax evaded, whichever is higher.
• No input tax credit for the unregistered period in most cases, so tax paid on purchases is lost.

Against that, a free registration is the cheapest compliance decision a growing business makes. Tax departments now match GST data against other sources, including digital payment receipts, which is how many small businesses first hear that they should have registered. Our guide on GST notices based on UPI payments covers that case.

Sites that charge a "government fee"

Search ads for GST registration often lead to private sites designed to look official, which collect a "registration fee" or "government charges" and then file the free application on your behalf. Some are legitimate service providers with poor labelling; some are not. The tests are simple:

• The government portal is gst.gov.in. Anything else is a private service.
• The portal never asks for a card or UPI payment during registration.
• The government never charges for the certificate or for a GSTIN.

Frequently asked questions