GST Registration in India for a Foreign-Owned Company: What Actually Happens

If you've followed our guides on registering a company and getting a PAN card, GST is the next real compliance step once your business is actually trading in India.

Two very different paths, and picking the right one matters

• Regular Registration — for companies with an actual, permanent presence in India (which describes most companies that followed our registration guide). Tied to standard turnover thresholds: ₹40 lakhs for goods, ₹20 lakhs for services (lower in certain special-category states).
• Non-Resident Taxable Person (NRTP) Registration — for foreign businesses supplying goods or services in India without a fixed local establishment, such as short-term trade activity. This one's valid for 90 days, extendable once for another 90.

Picking the wrong category isn't just a paperwork inconvenience — it changes your actual obligations from day one.

The step almost nobody mentions upfront: you may need to pay before you've earned anything

If you're registering as an NRTP, you're required to make an advance deposit of your estimated tax liability for the registration period — before you've made a single sale. This genuinely surprises people planning cash flow around "we'll pay tax once we're earning."

What you'll need

• Incorporation certificate, MOA/AOA
• A resident Indian authorized signatory with a valid PAN — mandatory, not optional; this person is your point of contact with GST authorities
• Proof of your principal place of business (lease agreement, utility bill, or a no-objection letter from the property owner)
• Bank account proof (a cancelled cheque or bank statement)
• A valid Digital Signature Certificate

One category worth knowing if your business is digital

If you're providing online digital services into India — software, streaming, digital content — there's a specific registration category called OIDAR (Online Information Database Access and Retrieval), separate from standard goods/services GST registration. Worth checking if this applies before assuming the standard process covers you.

After registration, the real work begins

GST registration isn't a one-time task. Registered businesses file monthly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B returns and maintain ongoing transaction records — this is a recurring compliance rhythm, not a box to check once.

Note: threshold figures and NRTP renewal rules can shift; confirm current numbers with a CA before relying on this for a real filing. This is orientation, not tax advice.