Section 24 - Persons Liable for Compulsory Registration
# Section 24: Compulsory Registration (Irrespective of Threshold)
Notwithstanding Section 22(1), the following persons MUST register under GST regardless of aggregate turnover:
#
Category
Linked Exception (Sec 23(2))
1
Persons making any inter-State taxable supply
Point B & C exemptions
2
Casual taxable persons (CTP) making taxable supply
Point D exemption
3
Persons required to pay tax under RCM on inward supplies
Point A exemption
4
Non-resident taxable persons (NRTP) making taxable supply
—
5
E-commerce: (i) Every ECO required to collect TCS u/s 52; (ii) ECO required to pay tax u/s 9(5); (iii) Persons supplying goods/services (NOT notified u/s 9(5)) through such ECO
Points E & F exemptions
6
Persons required to deduct TDS u/s 51
—
7
Persons making taxable supply on behalf of others — agents
—
8
Suppliers of OIDAR services from outside India to a non-registered person in India
—
9
Input Service Distributor (ISD) — whether or not separately registered under CGST Act
—
10
Suppliers of online money gaming from outside India to a person in India
—
11
Such other persons as notified by the Government on Council's recommendation
—
## Important Nuances
Even ₹1 of taxable inter-State supply OR ₹1 of agent-supply OR ₹1 of CTP-supply ordinarily triggers Section 24 — but Section 23(2) has carved out several exemptions (see Section 23 lesson).
An ISD must register separately as an ISD even if it is already separately registered as a regular taxpayer.
Worked example
### Example 1
Example 1 (ISD): A Mumbai head office is already registered for its own business under GST. To distribute common input service credit (e.g., audit fees) to its branches in other States, it MUST take a separate ISD registration u/s 24.
### Example 2
Example 2 (Agent): Mr. Q sells goods in Delhi as an agent of Mr. P (a registered principal). Even with zero turnover of his own, Mr. Q must register u/s 24(vii).
### Example 3
Example 3 (Inter-State supplier of services — exception): Ms. R provides inter-State consultancy services and her turnover is ₹15 lakh. Although Section 24(i) would have required registration, Section 23(2) Point B exempts service providers with aggregate turnover ≤ ₹20 lakh (₹10 lakh in special category states) — no registration needed.
### Example 4
Example 4 (CTP): A handicraft seller participating in an exhibition outside his home State as a casual taxable person normally must register; however, if dealing in notified handicraft goods and turnover ≤ ₹20 lakh, he is exempted (Sec 23(2) Point D).
⚠️ Common exam mistakes
Believing inter-State suppliers always need registration — service providers up to ₹20L (₹10L special states) are exempted by Sec 23(2)(B).
Assuming ISD registration is automatic if a regular GSTIN already exists — ISD needs a separate registration.
Forgetting that RCM-only recipients are exempted from registration if they make NO outward taxable supplies (Sec 23(2)(A)) — except metal scrap dealers.
Missing that ECO required to pay tax u/s 9(5) needs compulsory registration even if its own turnover is below threshold.
Overlooking OIDAR/online money gaming suppliers from abroad — they MUST register in India.
Bare-Act text Section 24 · CGST Act, 2017 · click to expand
Section 24: Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) of section 22, the following categories of persons shall be required to be registered under this Act,— (i) persons making any inter-State taxable supply; (ii) casual taxable persons making taxable supply; (iii) persons who are required to pay tax under reverse charge; (iv) person who are required to pay tax under sub-section (5) of section 9; (v) non-resident taxable persons making taxable supply; (vi) persons who are required to deduct tax under section 51, whether or not separately registered under this Act; (vii) persons who make taxable supply of goods or services or both on behalf of other taxable persons whether as an agent or otherwise; (viii) Input Service Distributor, whether or not separately registered under this Act; (ix) persons who supply goods or services or both, other than supplies specified under sub-section (5) of section 9, through such electronic commerce operator who is required to collect tax at source under section 52; (x) every electronic commerce operator who is required to collect tax at source under section 52; (xi) every person supplying online information and data base access or retrieval services from a place outside India to a person in India, other than a registered person; and (xii) such other person or class of persons as may be notified by the Government on the recommendations of the Council.