GSTIN with Karnataka state code 29, under the CGST Act, 2017 and the Karnataka GST Act, 2017
Register for GST in Bengaluru whether you are a developer billing a US client from HSR Layout, a SaaS startup in a Koramangala co-working space, a design studio in Indiranagar or a creator paid by brands and platforms. We check whether registration is compulsory or simply worth it, prepare REG-01 with the right SAC codes and workspace papers, handle Aadhaar or biometric verification and file your LUT so foreign invoices go out without IGST. Fee from ₹999, excluding GST; no government fee.
| Point | Position in Karnataka |
|---|---|
| GSTIN state code | 29 |
| Services or mixed supplies | Registration above ₹20 lakh aggregate turnover |
| Goods only | Registration above ₹40 lakh; Karnataka is not excluded from Notification 10/2019-Central Tax |
| Exports of services | Included in aggregate turnover; zero-rated once registered |
| Billing foreign clients without IGST | Needs a GSTIN and a Letter of Undertaking in RFD-11 for the financial year |
| Approval period | 3 working days on the Rule 9A and 14A routes; otherwise 7 working days, or up to 30 with physical verification |
| Government fee | Nil for registration and LUT |
| Our fee | From ₹999, excluding GST |
Most Bengaluru enquiries come from service sellers: developers, data and cloud engineers, product designers, writers and marketers, often with one foreign client, a couple of Indian startups and turnover near ₹20 lakh. Their decision is about timing, the LUT and credit on equipment.
The address is the other half. New businesses here work from co-working desks in Koramangala, Outer Ring Road or Whitefield, flats on 11-month agreements, or a parent's house in Jayanagar or Malleshwaram. Each works as a principal place of business with the right papers; a mismatch between agreement, electricity bill and REG-01 address is the usual cause of a REG-03 query.
Yes. Aggregate turnover under Section 2(6) of the CGST Act includes exports and is computed for your PAN across India. Bill a US company ₹1.8 lakh a month and you cross ₹20 lakh in month twelve, with 30 days to apply. Salary is not a supply and is not counted.
It is optional: foreign work is an inter-state supply, and Notification 10/2017-Integrated Tax exempts small inter-state service suppliers. It pays off when you have real GST on inputs such as a laptop or co-working seat, when Indian startups want a GST invoice, or when you will cross the line this year anyway.
All five conditions in Section 2(6) of the IGST Act must hold: supplier in India, client outside India, place of supply outside India, payment in convertible foreign exchange (or rupees where the RBI permits), and not establishments of the same person. Contractors placed through an Indian staffing firm or paid by the client's Bengaluru subsidiary usually fail the second condition.
Once registered, you file a Letter of Undertaking in Form GST RFD-11 under Rule 96A for the financial year. Export invoices then carry nil IGST, and GST on business purchases stays as credit, refundable in proportion to exports. It is free and must be renewed before the first export invoice each April; without it, a registered exporter pays IGST and claims it back.
| Your Bengaluru set-up | GST position | Practical step |
|---|---|---|
| Direct foreign contract, paid in USD, ₹14 lakh a year | Export; registration optional | Register if input GST is worth recovering |
| Same, ₹24 lakh a year | Registration compulsory | Register within 30 days, then file the LUT |
| Engaged through an Indian staffing company | Domestic supply to that company | Charge GST once registered; no LUT needed for this contract |
| Mix of a foreign client and Bengaluru startups | Both count towards ₹20 lakh | Register so startups get credit; LUT for the foreign invoices |
Collaborations with Indian brands are taxable promotional services, generally at 18% once registered, and products received for posts are non-monetary consideration. Payments from a brand or platform entity abroad can be exports if every condition is met. Tie each foreign receipt's bank advice to its invoice; Rule 96A expects payment within one year or the longer FEMA period.
Our GST registration for freelancers page goes into SAC codes, invoice wording and refunds in detail; the guide GST on export of services and the LUT covers the five conditions with examples.
Karnataka is not among the ten states excluded from Notification 10/2019-Central Tax, so goods-only suppliers register above ₹40 lakh and everyone else above ₹20 lakh. Section 24 cases register from the first rupee.
| Bengaluru situation | Registration required? |
|---|---|
| Product design consultant in Indiranagar, ₹17 lakh, clients in Bengaluru and Pune | No, below ₹20 lakh; voluntary if clients want credit |
| Hardware reseller on SP Road selling only within Karnataka, ₹38 lakh | No, below ₹40 lakh for goods only |
| The same reseller ships one order to Hosur in Tamil Nadu | Yes, inter-state supply of goods |
| SaaS startup with no revenue yet, paying GST on cloud and laptops | Not compulsory; voluntary registration lets it build credit |
| Exhibitor from another state at a Bengaluru tech expo | Yes, as a casual taxable person, at least five days before trading |
Section 22 and Section 24, CGST Act, 2017, with the Karnataka GST Act, 2017; Notification 10/2019-Central Tax; Notification 10/2017-Integrated Tax.
A company or LLP incorporated through SPICe+ can apply for GST in the linked AGILE-PRO-S form. If the registered office is a founder's home but the team moves to a co-working space next month, wait: the GSTIN should be for where business is actually carried on. See LLP registration in Bangalore or OPC registration in Bangalore.
Pre-revenue startups often register voluntarily, so GST on laptops, Indian-billed cloud services, rent and fees becomes credit instead of cost. When foreign sales start, the LUT keeps exports free of IGST and the credit can be refunded. The trade-off is returns from day one, nil or not.
Karnataka levies professional tax under its own Act, administered by the Commercial Taxes Department, and its portal lets a GST-registered business enrol using the GSTIN. It is a separate registration with its own returns; see professional tax.
Founders also tend to need startup accounting in Bangalore and, for tax and funding benefits, DPIIT recognition in Bangalore.
Your GSTIN is administered by either the Commercial Taxes Department of Karnataka or a CGST commissionerate in Bengaluru, never both. You name both jurisdictions in REG-01 and the allocation follows the GST Council's guidelines. That office handles scrutiny, audits and, for IT exporters, refund claims.
A virtual-office address you never use is a risk: if a verification visit finds no business there, the application can be rejected or the GSTIN later cancelled.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Client review | Indian and foreign billing added up, each contracting party checked, register-now or wait advice |
| 2. SAC and workspace | Services coded to match your contracts; papers matched to the BESCOM bill or agreement address |
| 3. REG-01 | Part A by OTP; Part B with business, promoter and workspace details, and the Rule 14A option |
| 4. Authentication | Aadhaar OTP, or a Suvidha Kendra visit if selected; ARN generated after |
| 5. Queries | REG-04 reply within seven working days, often a clearer NOC or corrected address |
| 6. GSTIN and LUT | REG-06 certificate, LUT filed, export invoice format and return frequency set |
| Route | Time limit | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Applicant identified as low-risk by the system | Electronic grant within 3 working days | Rule 9A, from 1 November 2025 |
| Rule 14A opt-in: output tax on supplies to registered persons up to ₹2.5 lakh a month | Electronic grant within 3 working days of Aadhaar authentication | Rule 14A, from 1 November 2025 |
| Ordinary application, Aadhaar authenticated | Officer decides within 7 working days | Rule 9(1) |
| Physical verification required or Aadhaar not authenticated | Within 30 days of submission | Rule 9(1) provisos |
| Query in REG-03 | Reply within 7 working days; decision within 7 working days of the reply | Rule 9(2), 9(5) |
Rule 14A suits many Bengaluru freelancers, because export invoices carry no output tax and domestic B2B billing is modest. It requires Aadhaar authentication of the applicant.
Statutory periods only; a grant depends on the officer or system and cannot be assured.
Biometric Aadhaar authentication at GST Suvidha Kendras was rolled out for Karnataka on 6 September 2024, for applications selected on risk parameters; the rest complete an OTP.
We book the slot and brief whoever attends, useful for co-working addresses where the officer may ask about the agreement.
| Item | Charge |
|---|---|
| Registration application in REG-01 | Nil |
| Aadhaar or biometric authentication | Nil |
| LUT in RFD-11 | Nil |
| Stamp duty on a fresh rent agreement | At actuals, if one is needed |
Delay costs tax, not fees: GST is payable from the date you became liable, and foreign invoices raised in that gap need review.
| Plan | Professional fee | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | From ₹999 | Threshold check, document review, REG-01 filing, Aadhaar or Suvidha Kendra coordination, one query reply, GSTIN certificate |
| Standard | Custom quote | Starter plus SAC mapping across Indian and foreign contracts, Rule 14A advice and LUT filing |
| Pro | Custom quote | Standard plus first-quarter returns, an export invoice template and a refund review of accumulated credit |
Fees exclude GST. There is no government fee for GST registration or the LUT. Payment is 50% upfront and 50% on delivery.
All fees and charges listed are indicative only and do not constitute a binding offer. Final amounts may vary depending on the volume of work and the complexity involved.
| Obligation | Timing |
|---|---|
| GSTR-1, with exports under LUT reported separately | Monthly, or quarterly under QRMP up to ₹5 crore turnover |
| GSTR-3B and tax payment | Monthly, or quarterly under QRMP with PMT-06 in the first two months |
| LUT for the new financial year | Before the first export invoice after 1 April |
| Refund of credit on exports | Within two years of the relevant date, in RFD-01 |
Mostly-export freelancers often owe little tax, so QRMP suits them, but returns are still due. GST return filing and freelancer bookkeeping keep GST turnover and ITR receipts consistent.
| Default | What follows |
|---|---|
| Not registering within 30 days of becoming liable | Penalty of ₹10,000 or the tax evaded, whichever is higher, under Section 122 |
| Tax unpaid on supplies since liability arose | Tax with interest under Section 50 |
| Foreign invoices raised as exports without a GSTIN and LUT after crossing the limit | IGST exposure on those invoices, with interest |
| Returns not filed after registration | Late fees and, eventually, cancellation by the officer |
| Regular | Composition | Voluntary below the limit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical Bengaluru user | IT exporters, agencies, startups selling across India | Small shops and suppliers of goods within Karnataka up to ₹1.5 crore | Freelancers under ₹20 lakh with input GST or B2B clients |
| Can export under LUT | Yes | No | Yes |
| Input tax credit | Yes | No | Yes |
| Supplies outside Karnataka | Allowed | Not for inter-state outward supplies | Allowed |
| Returns | GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B | CMP-08 quarterly and an annual return | Same as regular |
Our Bengaluru office is at 26 Krishnalaya Complex, 4th Cross, N.R. Road, Bengaluru 560002. We are a CA and CS practice and have supported 2,500+ companies across our offices.
| Provision | What it governs |
|---|---|
| Sections 2(6), 22, 24 and 25, CGST Act, 2017, and the Karnataka GST Act, 2017 | Aggregate turnover, thresholds, compulsory cases and procedure |
| Notification 10/2019-Central Tax | ₹40 lakh threshold for suppliers of goods; Karnataka is not excluded |
| Notification 10/2017-Integrated Tax | Exemption from compulsory registration for small inter-state service suppliers |
| Section 2(6), Section 16, IGST Act, 2017 | Export of services and zero rating |
| Rule 96A, CGST Rules, 2017 | LUT in RFD-11 and the time for receiving export proceeds |
| Rules 8, 9, 9A and 14A, CGST Rules, 2017 | Application, authentication and approval periods |
At its 57th meeting on 8 October 2026 the GST Council recommended omitting Section 2(6)(v) of the IGST Act so that services supplied to or through a company's foreign offices or branches can qualify as exports. This needs an amendment to the Act and does not apply until notified.
Authority sources: gst.gov.in, cbic-gst.gov.in, gstcouncil.gov.in, the Commercial Taxes Department, Karnataka at gst.karnataka.gov.in and the Karnataka professional tax portal at ptax.karnataka.gov.in.
A backend developer in HSR Layout left a salaried job in June and began contracting directly for a company in Germany at ₹1.6 lakh a month, paid in euros, while also billing a Bengaluru fintech ₹50,000 a month for weekend work. Her salary for April and May does not count. From July, her billing runs at ₹2.1 lakh a month, so the running total reaches ₹16.8 lakh at the end of February and ₹18.9 lakh at the end of March: below ₹20 lakh for the year, but only just.
She registered voluntarily in October anyway. Her new laptop and a co-working seat carried enough GST to be worth recovering, and the fintech wanted a GST invoice. She opted for Rule 14A, because her tax on domestic B2B supplies is about ₹9,000 a month, far below ₹2.5 lakh, and received the GSTIN electronically. We filed the LUT the next day. The German invoices now carry nil IGST under the LUT, the fintech is billed with CGST and SGST, and the input credit on the laptop is set off against that tax.
Hypothetical, built from common Bengaluru freelancer files; figures rounded and euro rates vary.
In Bengaluru: startup accounting in Bangalore, e-commerce accounting in Bangalore, accounting and bookkeeping in Bangalore and DPIIT recognition in Bangalore. Other cities: GST registration in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Kolkata. Nationally: GST registration, GST registration for freelancers, LUT filing, GST refund, ITR filing for freelancers and our guide Do freelancers working for foreign clients need GST?
₹20 lakh of aggregate turnover for services or mixed supplies, and ₹40 lakh for goods only, since Karnataka is not excluded from Notification 10/2019-Central Tax. Inter-state sales of goods need registration at any turnover.
Yes, from the point your year's billing, foreign invoices included, goes past ₹20 lakh. Before that it is your choice, though without a GSTIN there is no LUT and no credit on purchases. Details: GST registration for freelancers.
No, it is zero-rated under Section 16 of the IGST Act: under an LUT you charge no IGST and keep refundable input credit, provided all five Section 2(6) conditions are met.
File Form GST RFD-11 under Rule 96A once you are registered and before the first export invoice of each financial year. There is no fee, and the ARN is generated on submission.
Yes, if you actually work there. Upload the agreement with the operator, a no-objection letter naming your business, and the operator's electricity bill or property tax receipt for the building. Purely virtual addresses risk rejection at physical verification.
Often, yes. It can then take credit on laptops, cloud services and rent and later export under an LUT, at the cost of returns from the first period.
Three working days on the Rule 9A low-risk route or the Rule 14A opt-in for small B2B suppliers; otherwise the officer decides within 7 working days, or within 30 days where physical verification is required.
Since 6 September 2024, Karnataka applications selected on risk parameters need biometric Aadhaar authentication. Book from the email link, carry originals, and the ARN follows the visit.
Professional tax is a separate Karnataka levy with its own returns. The state portal lets GST-registered businesses enrol using their GSTIN.
29, followed by the PAN, an entity number, Z by default and a check digit.
Tell us what you need and a real CA calls you back, with no scripts and no transfers. Call 72783 76654. Mon - Sat, 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM IST.
Reviewed by CorporateWalla's CA and CS team · Last Updated 23 October 2026 · · Sources: GST portal, CBIC GST, GST Council: Notification 10/2019-Central Tax, GST Council: 57th meeting recommendations, 8 October 2026, Commercial Taxes Department, Karnataka, Karnataka professional tax portal
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