Section 22 - Persons liable for registration
Chapter VI - Registration
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Finin2min Summary - Section in 2 Minutes
Creates turnover-based registration liability,
with base thresholds and notification power
for enhanced goods threshold.
Base threshold is ₹20 lakh, or ₹10 lakh in
specified special category States.
Exclusive suppliers of goods may qualify
for the notified ₹40 lakh threshold subject
to conditions.
Aggregate turnover is PAN-wide and all-
India.
Transfer/succession and amalgamation/
demerger have specific effective-date
rules.
Exact operative text
22. Persons liable for registration.-(1) Every supplier shall be liable to be registered under this Act in the State or Union
territory, other than special category States, from where he makes a taxable supply of goods or services or both, if his aggregate
turnover in a financial year exceeds twenty lakh rupees:
Provided that where such person makes taxable supplies of goods or services or both from any of the special category States,
he shall be liable to be registered if his aggregate turnover in a financial year exceeds ten lakh rupees:
Provided further that the Government may, at the request of a special category State and on the recommendations of the
Council, enhance the aggregate turnover referred to in the first proviso from ten lakh rupees to such amount, not exceeding
twenty lakh rupees and subject to such conditions and limitations, as may be so notified: Provided also that the Government
may, at the request of a State and on the recommendations of the Council, enhance the aggregate turnover from twenty lakh
rupees to such amount not exceeding forty lakh rupees in case of supplier who is engaged exclusively in the supply of goods,
subject to such conditions and limitations, as may be notified.
Explanation.-For the purposes of this sub-section, a person shall be considered to be engaged exclusively in the supply of
goods even if he is engaged in exempt supply of services provided by way of extending deposits, loans or advances in so far as
the consideration is represented by way of interest or discount.
(2) Every person who, on the day immediately preceding the appointed day, is registered or holds a licence under an existing
law, shall be liable to be registered under this Act with effect from the appointed day.
(3) Where a business carried on by a taxable person registered under this Act is transferred, whether on account of succession
or otherwise, to another person as a going concern, the transferee or the successor, as the case may be, shall be liable to be
registered with effect from the date of such transfer or succession.
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections
(1) and
(3), in a case of transfer pursuant to sanction of a scheme or an arrangement for amalgamation or, as the case may be, demerger
of two or more companies pursuant to an order of a High Court, Tribunal or otherwise, the transferee shall be liable to be
registered, with effect from the date on which the Registrar of Companies issues a certificate of incorporation giving effect to
such order of the High Court or Tribunal.
Explanation.-For the purposes of this section,-
(i) the expression “aggregate turnover” shall include all supplies made by the taxable person, whether on his own account or
made on behalf of all his principals;
(ii) the supply of goods, after completion of job work, by a registered job worker shall be treated as the supply of goods by the
principal referred to in section 143, and the value of such goods shall not be included in the aggregate turnover of the
registered job worker;
(iii) the expression “special category States” shall mean the States as specified in sub-clause
(g) of clause
(4) of article 279A of the Constitution except the State of Jammu and Kashmir* and States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam,
Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Uttarakhand.
Paragraph-wise decode
Creates turnover-based registration liability, with base thresholds and notification power for enhanced goods threshold. Base threshold is ₹20 lakh, or ₹10 lakh in specified special category States. Exclusive suppliers of goods may qualify for the notified ₹40 lakh threshold subject to conditions. Aggregate turnover is PAN-wide and all- India. Transfer/succession and amalgamation/ demerger have specific effective-date rules.
Section-Rule-Form-Notification bridge
The mapping is a legal concordance, not a round-robin related-link list. It is limited to instruments certified in this phase.
Practical example
A PAN has ₹25 lakh taxable goods turnover in one State and ₹12 lakh exempt turnover elsewhere. Aggregate turnover includes both, so threshold testing is PAN-wide. PROFESSIONAL ALERT The ₹40 lakh limit is not universal and does not apply where disqualifying supplies/registrations exist.
Professional alert
Confirm the transaction-date amendment and commencement position before reliance.
Implementation checklist
- Fix the transaction, taxable period and jurisdiction.
- Read every subsection, proviso, explanation and omission marker.
- Open the mapped Rule, form, notification and circular.
- Test State/UT variation and portal version.
- Preserve evidence, approvals, working papers and acknowledgements.
- Record the conclusion, assumptions, source date and reviewer.
Evidence and retention checklist
- Contract, purchase order, invoice or underlying transaction document.
- Registration, return, ledger, challan and portal acknowledgement.
- Official Act/Rule/notification version used and effective date.
- Internal tax position paper, computation and management approval.
- Correspondence, notices, replies, orders and appeal papers where applicable.
Practical Q&A
- What does section 22 regulate?
- It regulates persons liable for registration. Read the exact text, conditions, exceptions and transaction date together.
- Which subordinate law should be checked?
- Rule 8, Rule 9, Rule 9A, Rule 10, Rule 10A, Rule 10B, Rule 11, Rule 12, Rule 13, Rule 14, Rule 14A, Rule 15. Notifications, circulars, forms and the corresponding SGST/UTGST layer may also apply.
- What evidence should be retained?
- Preserve the contract or transaction record, invoice or form, portal acknowledgement, payment/ledger evidence, correspondence, legal working and the official source version used.
- Can portal behaviour override the statute?
- No. Portal functionality is operational evidence; legal entitlement and liability remain controlled by the Act, Rules, notifications and binding decisions.