Small businesses and traders in India often face a choice between the Composition Scheme and regular GST registration. Each comes with distinct trade-offs in tax rate, compliance, and flexibility.
What is the Composition Scheme?
It's a simplified GST scheme for small taxpayers with turnover up to ₹1.5 crore (₹75 lakh for special category states) that allows them to pay tax at a fixed, lower rate on turnover instead of the standard slab rates, with significantly reduced compliance requirements.
Tax rates under Composition Scheme
- Traders and manufacturers: 1% of turnover
- Restaurants (not serving alcohol): 5% of turnover
- Other eligible service providers: 6% of turnover (under a separate composition scheme for services, capped at ₹50 lakh turnover)
Key restrictions of the Composition Scheme
- No input tax credit can be claimed on purchases
- Cannot make inter-state outward supplies
- Cannot supply through e-commerce operators required to collect TCS
- Cannot issue a tax invoice charging GST to customers — must issue a "Bill of Supply" instead
- Not available to manufacturers of certain notified goods like ice cream, pan masala, and tobacco
Regular GST registration
Under regular registration, businesses charge GST at standard rates (5%, 12%, 18%, or 28% depending on the goods/services), can claim full input tax credit, and can supply across states and through e-commerce platforms without restriction. Compliance is heavier — monthly/quarterly returns with detailed invoice-level reporting.
Which one should you choose?
Choose Composition if: you're a small local trader or restaurant with mostly B2C, intra-state sales, and want minimal paperwork.
Choose Regular registration if: you deal with B2B clients who need ITC, sell inter-state or online, or your margins depend on claiming input credit on purchases.
Switching between schemes is possible at the start of a financial year by filing the appropriate form on the GST portal, so businesses aren't locked in permanently — but frequent switching can create compliance complications, so it's worth choosing carefully based on your business model.
