GST State Code 38 — Ladakh
GST state code 38 is Ladakh. Every GSTIN issued in Ladakh begins with 38 — the first two characters of a GST number are always the code of the state or union territory that granted the registration.
Example GSTIN registered in Ladakh
38AAACR5055K1Z4
Structurally valid and checksum-correct, but illustrative — it is not an issued registration. The highlighted 38 is the state code; the ten characters after it are the holder’s PAN.
Ladakh GST code at a glance
| GST state code | 38 |
|---|---|
| Union territory | Ladakh |
| Jurisdiction type | Union territory |
| Capital | Leh |
| Common abbreviation | LA |
| Intra-state supply attracts | CGST + UTGST |
| GSTIN starts with | 38 |
| Currently issued | Yes |
Where 38 sits inside a GST number
A GSTIN is 15 characters in a fixed layout. The state code is the part that tells you where the registration was granted, and it is the only part that identifies a place.
| Position | Example | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | 38 | The GST state code — Ladakh on this page. |
| 3–12 | AAACR5055K | The holder’s PAN, embedded unchanged. This is why one PAN search returns every GSTIN issued to a business across all states. |
| 13 | 1 | Counts registrations held against the same PAN within Ladakh. A second registered business vertical in the same union territory gets 2, and so on. |
| 14 | Z | A fixed letter on every regular GSTIN. It carries no information. |
| 15 | 4 | A check digit computed from the first 14 characters. It catches typos — it does not prove the number was ever issued. |
Because the checksum algorithm is public, a fabricated number can pass a format check and still be entirely fictitious. Confirming that a 38 GSTIN actually exists means looking it up against the live register. Full breakdown of the format: what a GST number is made of.
CGST + UTGST or IGST on a Ladakh supply?
Comparing state codes is the first check, and for most supplies it settles the question.
Your GSTIN starts 38, place of supply in Ladakh
Intra-territory supply. Charge CGST + UTGST, split evenly between the centre and the union territory.
Your GSTIN starts with any other code
Inter-state supply. Charge IGST at the combined rate, which the centre later apportions to the consuming state.
Ladakh has no legislature of its own, so the state-level share of an intra-territory supply is levied as UTGST rather than SGST. The rate and the arithmetic are identical to CGST + SGST — only the name of the second component and the authority collecting it change.
One caveat worth keeping: the place of supply is not always the customer’s billing address. For several categories of service the IGST Act points somewhere else entirely, so treat the state code as the starting point rather than the conclusion.
Cities and districts under code 38
GST state codes are assigned per state or union territory, never per city. Every business registered anywhere in Ladakh carries 38 — including Leh and Kargil. There is no separate GST code for a city, a district or a commissionerate.
Nearby state codes
Codes adjacent to 38 — the ones most often mistaken for it when reading a GSTIN quickly.
Full GST state code list
Every GST state code in the government’s master, with 38 highlighted.
| Code | State or union territory | Type | Intra-state tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Jammu and Kashmir | Union territory | CGST + SGST |
| 02 | Himachal Pradesh | State | CGST + SGST |
| 03 | Punjab | State | CGST + SGST |
| 04 | Chandigarh | Union territory | CGST + UTGST |
| 05 | Uttarakhand | State | CGST + SGST |
| 06 | Haryana | State | CGST + SGST |
| 07 | Delhi | Union territory | CGST + SGST |
| 08 | Rajasthan | State | CGST + SGST |
| 09 | Uttar Pradesh | State | CGST + SGST |
| 10 | Bihar | State | CGST + SGST |
| 11 | Sikkim | State | CGST + SGST |
| 12 | Arunachal Pradesh | State | CGST + SGST |
| 13 | Nagaland | State | CGST + SGST |
| 14 | Manipur | State | CGST + SGST |
| 15 | Mizoram | State | CGST + SGST |
| 16 | Tripura | State | CGST + SGST |
| 17 | Meghalaya | State | CGST + SGST |
| 18 | Assam | State | CGST + SGST |
| 19 | West Bengal | State | CGST + SGST |
| 20 | Jharkhand | State | CGST + SGST |
| 21 | Odisha | State | CGST + SGST |
| 22 | Chhattisgarh | State | CGST + SGST |
| 23 | Madhya Pradesh | State | CGST + SGST |
| 24 | Gujarat | State | CGST + SGST |
| 25 | Daman and Diu (merged) | Legacy | CGST + UTGST |
| 26 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | Union territory | CGST + UTGST |
| 27 | Maharashtra | State | CGST + SGST |
| 28 | Andhra Pradesh (pre-bifurcation) | Legacy | CGST + SGST |
| 29 | Karnataka | State | CGST + SGST |
| 30 | Goa | State | CGST + SGST |
| 31 | Lakshadweep | Union territory | CGST + UTGST |
| 32 | Kerala | State | CGST + SGST |
| 33 | Tamil Nadu | State | CGST + SGST |
| 34 | Puducherry | Union territory | CGST + SGST |
| 35 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Union territory | CGST + UTGST |
| 36 | Telangana | State | CGST + SGST |
| 37 | Andhra Pradesh | State | CGST + SGST |
| 38 | Ladakh | Union territory | CGST + UTGST |
| 96 | Other Country | Special | — |
| 97 | Other Territory | Special | — |
| 99 | Centre Jurisdiction | Special | — |
Prefer to search rather than scroll? The state code finder filters the whole list by code or state name, and pulls the state out of a pasted GSTIN.
GST state code 38 — common questions
Check a Ladakh GST number
A GSTIN starting 38 was issued in Ladakh — but the code alone does not tell you whether the registration is still active. Look it up against live government records: registered name, current status, places of business and return filing history.