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Exporting without GST registration

A lot of small sellers reach this question the same way: the order is real, the customer is abroad, and nobody will say whether being unregistered stops it. Here is how GST meets a parcel at our end.

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Two different GST questions, usually tangled together

The first is about our service. Indian law requires GST on a service supplied from India, so the shipping you buy from us carries GST and it appears on your bill as a line, not a surprise. That is true whichever route you are on and whether or not you are registered.

The second is about your business — whether you should be registered, and what your own turnover means for you.

What we can answer is the question underneath both: does being unregistered stop your customer getting their order? No.

The two ways a parcel leaves here

Everything on this page turns on which of these you are, so it is worth settling first. There are two, and we run both.

If your business is registered as an exporter

You have a GSTIN, an IEC and an AD code. Your parcel ships as your export: it goes under your own IEC, and you authorise our carrier to file the shipping bill (CSB-V) on your behalf. You pay the freight, and the commercial invoice carries your business.

If your business is not registered as an exporter

We call this the simple route, and it is the one most Instagram sellers, boutiques and small shops start on. On this route you do not export at all. Your customer abroad receives the parcel as their own, under our personal forwarding terms — the same terms any individual uses to send their own belongings home. You book the shipment here, put your own bill for the order inside the parcel, and send it to our warehouse. We weigh it, photograph it, and send your customer a link to pay the shipping. As soon as they pay, it goes, and they get tracking in your name.

What changes if you register later

Tell us, and we move you. The booking screen is the same; what changes is who the exporter is, who pays the freight, and whose name is on the commercial invoice. Nothing about your past shipments is reopened, and your customers see no difference except that you can start paying the shipping yourself instead of passing the link on.

Where to start

Open a business account and tell us what you sell. We call every new business on WhatsApp within a working day, usually to settle exactly the question this page is about, and you are on the right route before your first parcel moves.

Questions

Can I export from India without GST registration?

Unregistered businesses use our simple route, where the customer abroad receives the parcel as their own, and registered businesses ship as their own export under their GSTIN and IEC.

Will GST be charged on the shipping?

Yes. Indian law requires GST on a service supplied from India, so GST applies to the shipping we sell you and it is shown as a line on the bill. That is the same on both routes.

I sell on Etsy and I am below the threshold. Does that work here?

It does, on the simple route. Put your Etsy order bill in the parcel so we can prepare the declaration from a real document, and give us the buyer name and email at booking so we can send them the shipping link.

Does my customer pay more because I am not registered?

They pay the shipping, which on the registered route you would have paid and built into your price. The freight itself is the same. What changes is who is billed for it.

Send your next order

Open a business account and tell us what you sell. We call every new business within a working day, usually to settle exactly which route you are on.

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