Until now, an online seller in Mumbai or Thane whose stock sat in a marketplace warehouse in another state needed a GST registration in that state with a business address of its own there. From 1 November 2026, there is a simpler route. A seller that is already GST-registered in its home state can take a registration in another state using the e-commerce marketplace's warehouse there as its principal place of business, with the marketplace's consent and without premises of its own in that state. This note explains who can use it, how it works, and where it can go wrong.
Quick answer
- New from 1 November 2026: A seller already GST-registered in its home state can register in another state where it has no premises of its own, using an e-commerce marketplace's warehouse there as its principal place of business.
- Goods through a marketplace: It covers goods sold through a marketplace that collects tax at source (TCS), needs the marketplace's consent on the GST portal, and is not available for services.
- ₹2.5 lakh B2B limit: Tax on sales to registered buyers from the marketplace-warehouse registration must stay within ₹2.5 lakh a month; the route sets no cap on sales to consumers.
- Can end automatically: If the marketplace withdraws consent for the principal warehouse and no amendment to another marketplace warehouse is applied for within 30 days, the registration is treated as cancelled, and the route cannot be used again after a cancellation or suspension.
What has changed from 1 November 2026?
The GST registration rules now include a dedicated route for sellers who supply goods through an e-commerce operator in a state where they have no physical presence. The new registration is on the same PAN as the home-state registration. The marketplace's warehouse in that state is recorded as the principal place of business, and other warehouses of the same or another marketplace in that state can be added as additional places of business. The seller does not have to display its registration certificate or GSTIN at the warehouse, and its books of account stay at its home-state principal place of business, to be produced when the department asks for them.
Who can use it?
- Already registered at home. You must hold a regular GST registration in a home state where you have a real place of business. The route adds states; it is not a first registration.
- No presence of your own in the new state. The route is for a state where you have no office, godown, branch or other premises of your own, and where you do not already hold a regular registration.
- Goods only, through a marketplace. It covers goods supplied through an e-commerce operator that collects tax at source (TCS) on your sales. Service providers cannot use it.
- A limit on business-to-business sales. The tax on your supplies to registered buyers from that registration must not exceed ₹2.5 lakh a month (CGST, SGST/UTGST and IGST together). Supplies to your own registrations on the same PAN do not count, and the route sets no cap on sales to consumers. If your sales from that registration to registered buyers are likely to cross the limit, plan to move to a normal registration in that state before they do.
- Some registrations are excluded. The new registration cannot be a composition, input service distributor, SEZ unit or developer, or casual taxable person registration. Your home registration must not be facing cancellation proceedings or have a pending cancellation application.
- One per state. Only one such registration is allowed for each PAN in each state.
How does the application work?
- Apply on the GST portal using the normal new-registration application, choose this route, and give your home-state GSTIN and the marketplace's GSTIN and warehouse details.
- The marketplace decides whether to consent on the portal, within seven working days. Without consent for the principal warehouse, the application does not go forward, and you can apply again later. If the marketplace does not consent to an additional warehouse, only that warehouse is dropped.
- Aadhaar authentication is compulsory for this route, apart from the classes of person the government has exempted.
- Home-state checks. If your home registration has not already been through biometric Aadhaar authentication, document checks and physical verification, the home-state officer carries them out first. If the officer finds that you do not actually carry on business in your home state, the application is rejected, along with any other applications under this route linked to that home registration. If that physical verification is not done within 30 days of the application reference number being generated, the application is treated as approved.
- Grant. Where the home registration has already been fully verified, the registration is granted electronically after the marketplace consents.
If your home registration was taken under the simplified three-working-day route for small suppliers, you must withdraw from that route before applying.
Can you sell outside the marketplace from this registration?
Plan on marketplace sales only. The route is built around supplies through an e-commerce operator, the application form's instructions describe sellers who supply only through an e-commerce platform, and "intends to make supplies other than through an e-commerce operator" is one of the listed reasons for leaving the route. If you expect to sell directly to customers in that state, from your own website or a shop for example, a normal registration with a genuine address in that state is the safer course.
Stock transfers, returns and TCS
The registration in the new state is treated as a separate person from your Maharashtra registration. Stock you send from Maharashtra to the marketplace warehouse is an inter-state supply between the two registrations, needing a tax invoice with IGST, and an e-way bill where the consignment value exceeds ₹50,000. Each registration files its own returns, input tax credit stays with the registration that earned it, and the TCS the marketplace collects on sales from that warehouse is credited to that state's GSTIN. Keep the returns of every registration up to date: once a registration under this route is cancelled or suspended, a fresh registration under the same route is not allowed.
What happens if the marketplace arrangement ends?
- The marketplace withdraws consent for your principal warehouse. Within 30 days of the withdrawal being recorded on the portal, you must apply for an amendment to move to another marketplace warehouse in that state, which that marketplace then consents to. If you do not, the registration is treated as cancelled electronically. If consent is withdrawn only for an additional warehouse, that warehouse is removed and the registration continues.
- The marketplace's own GST or TCS registration is cancelled. The same 30-day window to move to another marketplace's warehouse applies.
- The marketplace changes its warehouse address. Once that change is approved, you have 30 days to amend your own registration to the new address; if you do not, the registration is treated as cancelled.
- Your home-state registration is cancelled. The registration under this route is treated as cancelled as well, with no 30-day window.
- No second chance. Once a registration under this route is cancelled or suspended, the application form's instructions do not allow a fresh registration under the same route. You would need a normal registration with your own address. Since applying to cancel a registration also suspends it, think before cancelling on request.
- Leaving voluntarily. You can move to a normal registration in that state by giving a real place of business there, which is then subject to verification, after filing returns for at least one tax period.
How is this different from the 2023 relief for small online sellers?
Since October 2023, small sellers of goods below the registration threshold can sell through marketplaces without registering, using an enrolment number instead of a GSTIN. That relief is limited to sales within one state and does not allow sales to other states. The new route is the opposite case: it is for sellers who are already registered and want to sell across states, with stock placed in marketplace warehouses outside their home state.
Related registration changes from 1 November 2026
- Amendments. As before, a change in registration details must be applied for within 15 days of the change. What is new is that only a change of principal place of business now goes to an officer for approval; most other changes take effect once filed and validated on the portal.
- Cancellation on request. As before, an application to cancel must be made within 30 days of the event that calls for it. What is new is that all pending returns must be filed before applying.
What a Mumbai or Thane seller should check before applying
- Is your home registration in Maharashtra active, fully verified, and free of cancellation proceedings or a pending cancellation application?
- Will the marketplace consent for that state, and in which of its warehouses will your stock sit?
- Will your sales in that state be only through marketplaces that collect TCS, and will tax on sales from that registration to registered buyers stay within ₹2.5 lakh a month?
- Have you set up stock-transfer invoices and e-way bills from your Maharashtra GSTIN to the new state's GSTIN, and separate returns for the new GSTIN, with the books kept in Maharashtra?
- If the marketplace relationship ends, do you have a fallback, since this route cannot be used again once a registration under it is cancelled or suspended?
Questions we are asked
Can I register for GST in another state using an e-commerce marketplace's warehouse address? Yes, from 1 November 2026, if you are already registered in your home state, have no premises or regular registration of your own in the other state, sell goods through a marketplace that collects TCS, and the marketplace consents on the GST portal. Tax on sales to registered buyers from that registration must stay within ₹2.5 lakh a month.
Can service providers use the marketplace warehouse route? No. The route is only for suppliers of goods through an e-commerce operator. Service providers need a normal registration with their own place of business wherever registration is required.
Is there a turnover limit for registering through a marketplace warehouse? The route sets no turnover limit, but the tax on supplies to registered buyers from that registration must not exceed ₹2.5 lakh a month. Sales to consumers and supplies to your own registrations on the same PAN do not count towards it.
Can I sell directly to customers in that state from this registration? Not safely. Selling other than through an e-commerce operator is a listed reason to leave the route, so if you plan direct sales in that state, from your own website or a shop for example, take a normal registration with a genuine address there.
What happens if the marketplace withdraws its consent? If consent is withdrawn for your principal warehouse, you must, within 30 days of the withdrawal being recorded on the portal, apply for an amendment to move to another marketplace warehouse in that state, and that marketplace must consent. Otherwise the registration is treated as cancelled, and a fresh registration under this route is not allowed. If consent is withdrawn only for an additional warehouse, that warehouse is removed and the registration continues.
Selling through marketplaces in other states?
We review your home registration, prepare the applications for additional states, and help set up the stock transfers and returns for each registration. See GST registration, our step-by-step registration guide, or contact us.
Disclaimer
This note is for general information and knowledge purposes only. It describes the position as at 7 November 2026, is based on the amended GST registration rules effective from 1 November 2026 and the portal process as published, and is not legal, tax or professional advice. Some related registration changes take effect later, and portal steps and departmental practice can change; check the position for your own facts before applying.
Tax, GST and business setup advisors — Mumbai and Thane. Contact us to discuss your situation.
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