Do you need GST registration to sell digital products in India?
Not until your turnover passes ₹20 lakh in a financial year. That holds whether you sell from your own site, through a platform, or through Stashq, and whether your buyers are in your state or not.
Above ₹20 lakh you register, on every route, Stashq included. What changes from one route to the next is how much paperwork comes with it.
Facts checked on
What each way of selling asks of you
How you sell
Up to ₹20 lakh a year
Above ₹20 lakh
Your own site and a payment gateway
You sell straight to the buyer.
Up to ₹20 lakh
No GSTIN needed.
Above ₹20 lakh
Register. Invoice every buyer and report every sale.
A platform that takes a cut of each sale
It collects the money; you are still the seller to the buyer.
Up to ₹20 lakh
No GSTIN needed.
Above ₹20 lakh
Register. Report every buyer sale, and the platform collects tax at source from your payouts.
Stashq, as merchant of record
Stashq buys from you and sells to the buyer.
Up to ₹20 lakh
No GSTIN needed.
Above ₹20 lakh
Register. Report what you supply to Stashq. Stashq invoices every buyer.
₹10 lakh instead of ₹20 lakh if you supply from Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland or Tripura. Digital products only — physical goods follow different rules.
Where the ₹20 lakh comes from
Under GST, a file you sell — an ebook, a template, a preset pack, a course download — is a supply of services, not goods. Section 22 of the CGST Act says a supplier must register once their aggregate turnover in a financial year passes ₹20 lakh, or ₹10 lakh in four north-eastern states.
Selling to buyers in other states does not change that. Inter-state supplies normally force registration, but Notification 10/2017-Integrated Tax exempts suppliers of services below the same threshold.
Aggregate turnover means everything taxable you supply across India, not just one shop: client work, other platforms and Stashq all count toward the same ₹20 lakh.
Why some guides say you need GST from ₹1
Section 24(ix) makes registration compulsory, at any turnover, for anyone supplying through an e-commerce operator that has to collect tax at source. Read on its own, that covers every platform that takes a cut.
It is not read on its own. Notification 65/2017-Central Tax exempts suppliers of services through an e-commerce operator from that rule while they are under the section 22 threshold — and the GST Council’s own FAQ adds that the operator then collects no tax at source on their sales. The ₹1 rule is real for physical goods. It does not reach a digital download.
What counts toward ₹20 lakh on Stashq
The wholesale price Stashq pays you — not what your buyers paid.
Stashq is the merchant of record, so every sale is two supplies. You supply the product to Stashq at a wholesale price; Stashq sells it to the buyer and charges them GST. The buyer’s sale is Stashq’s to invoice and report. The supply to Stashq is yours, and it is what counts toward your threshold.
GST on the retail sale, payment processing and the Stashq margin come off before that figure, so your buyers pay well over ₹20 lakh before you reach it.
A ₹499 sale on the Free plan
- Buyer pays
- ₹499.00
- GST (18%), Stashq's to remit
- − ₹76.12
- Payment processing, by UPI
- − ₹1.25
- Stashq margin 8%
- − ₹33.83
- Counts toward your ₹20 lakh
- ₹387.80
A card payment costs more to process, so the figure can be as low as ₹375.80.
What your buyers would have to pay in a year first
The low end is every buyer paying by UPI, the high end every buyer paying by card. These assume Stashq is your only taxable income.
- FreeStashq margin 8%
- ₹25.7 lakh – ₹26.6 lakh
- CreatorStashq margin 3%
- ₹24.4 lakh – ₹25.1 lakh
- ProNo Stashq margin
- ₹23.7 lakh – ₹24.4 lakh
What changes on Stashq once you cross it
You register, like any supplier. The difference is what you are registering to report.
- You never invoice a buyer. Stashq issues every buyer’s tax invoice under its own GSTIN and pays the GST on the retail sale.
- You report one customer, not every buyer. Your supplies are to Stashq, and your payout statement itemises each one for your return.
- The tax comes out of your payout. Stashq does not collect your GSTIN or add tax on top of the wholesale price, so the GST you owe on your supply to Stashq is paid from what Stashq paid you. If your registration needs a tax invoice for that supply, you issue it — the statement is a statement of account, not an invoice.
Your seller terms set this out in sections 3 and 4.
GST is not income tax
Staying under the GST threshold does not make the money untaxed. What you earn from selling is income, declared in your ITR at your normal slab.
Questions
Can I sell digital products in India without a GST number?
Yes, while your aggregate turnover stays within ₹20 lakh in a financial year (₹10 lakh if you supply from Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland or Tripura). Digital products are services under GST, and below that threshold there is no requirement to register whether you sell on your own site, through a platform, or to buyers in other states.
Why do some guides say you need GST from your first rupee?
Section 24(ix) of the CGST Act makes registration compulsory for anyone supplying through an e-commerce operator that collects tax at source. For services, Notification 65/2017-Central Tax removes that requirement below the ₹20 lakh threshold. The ₹1 rule is real for physical goods; it does not apply to an ebook, a template or a preset pack.
On Stashq, what counts toward my ₹20 lakh?
The wholesale price Stashq pays you for each sale, not what the buyer paid. GST on the retail sale, payment processing and the Stashq margin are deducted before that figure, so your buyers pay noticeably more than ₹20 lakh before you reach it. Any other taxable income you earn, on other platforms or from clients, counts too.
What happens on Stashq once I cross ₹20 lakh?
You register for GST like any supplier. Stashq still invoices every buyer under its own GSTIN, so you never invoice or report individual buyer sales — you report your supplies to Stashq. Stashq does not add tax on top of your payout: the tax you owe on that supply comes out of the wholesale price, and if your registration needs a tax invoice for it, you issue it.
Does staying under the GST threshold mean I pay no tax?
No. GST and income tax are separate. What you earn from selling is income, declared in your ITR at your normal slab, whatever your GST position.
Sources
Read them yourself. Rules change, and this page says when it was last checked.
- CGST Act, section 22
Persons liable for registration — the ₹20 lakh and ₹10 lakh thresholds.
- Notification 65/2017-Central Tax
Exempts suppliers of services through an e-commerce operator from compulsory registration below the threshold.
- Notification 10/2017-Integrated Tax
Exempts persons making inter-state supplies of services from registration below the threshold.
- GST Council, FAQs on TCS
Confirms that an operator collects no TCS on services from suppliers who are not liable to register.