Ask Veda
Transporters, courier and freight businesses need GST set up the right way for goods transport, e-way bill access and payroll registrations for drivers and staff.
What each registration is, who issues it and when it applies to a logistics business. Rules vary by state and by size — treat this as the map, and ask us about your exact case.
Mandatory · CBIC
Required once aggregate turnover crosses the threshold — ₹40 lakh for goods and ₹20 lakh for services in most states — and in some cases from the first sale, such as most inter-state supplies of goods.
Mandatory for an office · State labour dept
Registers a shop, office, restaurant or other commercial establishment under the state's Shops and Establishments Act. Who must register, and the exemptions, differ from state to state.
For freight forwarding and cross-border · DGFT
The Importer-Exporter Code — needed to clear exports and imports through customs and to receive foreign payments against exports of goods.
10 / 20+ employees · EPFO, ESIC
Provident fund applies from 20 employees and ESI from 10 (in notified areas). Registration is due once you cross the count, and monthly contributions follow.
Transporters without a GSTIN
Transporters without a GSTIN enrol on the e-way bill portal (Form GST ENR-01) to get a transporter ID for generating and updating e-way bills.
Recommended · fleet and contracts
A separate legal entity with limited liability — the structure investors, banks and larger customers expect, and the only common one that can issue equity and ESOPs.
Recommended · benefits & credit
A free, Aadhaar-based registration that classifies you as a micro, small or medium enterprise — used for priority-sector credit, protection against delayed payments and preferences in government tenders.
Some registrations need another one first — this is the sequence that avoids rework.
After the registrations come the returns and filings that keep you compliant.
GST returns, bookkeeping, TDS and annual filings — everything a business like yours has to keep doing, in one place.
See the compliance pack →What people starting a logistics business ask us most.
A goods transport agency either pays GST itself (it opts in for the year) or its business customers pay it under reverse charge.
A transporter without a GSTIN enrols on the e-way bill portal (Form GST ENR-01) to get a transporter ID; registered transporters use their GSTIN.
Either limits liability. A company is easier for vehicle finance and large client contracts; an LLP is cheaper to run.
Every sector, with its own checklist.
A CA or CS confirms which of these apply to you, in your state, and handles the ones we cover.