Research period

The report uses data from multiple reference periods because the available GST datasets serve different analytical purposes.

• FY 2023–24 – primary period for the detailed state-wise analysis of new taxpayers.
• April 2018–October 2024 – historical active-taxpayer series used to illustrate the development of the GST taxpayer base.
• May–July 2026 – latest national GST taxpayer-base context available from Government of India sources at the time of publication.
• October 2026 – report publication date.

The report does not combine these periods into a single time series where the underlying definitions or measurement points differ.

Geographic coverage

The research covers India at the national and state/Union Territory levels.

State-level rankings are based on the GSTN-published FY 2023–24 table of new taxpayers. The GSTN report records 64,89,906 new taxpayers across India for the period. GST Tutorial

City-level business targeting is discussed as a practical commercial application of the research rather than as a claim that the public GSTN report provides a complete city-wise new-registration dataset.

Data collection

Primary research relies principally on official sources, including:

• Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN)
• Government of India
• Press Information Bureau (PIB)
• GSTN statistical and statutory publications

The GSTN “7 Years of GST” statistical report provides the state-wise FY 2023–24 new-taxpayer dataset used for the principal state rankings. GST Tutorial

The GSTN Annual Report 2023–24 provides additional registration statistics and definitions around the GST taxpayer system. GSTN

Data cleaning

Before analysis, source data was reviewed for:

• State-name spelling and naming inconsistencies
• Duplicate geographic labels
• Numerical formatting
• Missing observations
• Differences between taxpayer counts and net registration changes
• Differences between historical and current measurement periods

For example, the GSTN statistical report uses variations such as “Gujrat” and “Maharastra” in its source table; these are standardised to Gujarat and Maharashtra in the report without changing the underlying values. GST Tutorial

Categorisation

Geographic categories follow the state/Union Territory classifications used in the underlying government dataset.

Industry-level classifications are used only where a reliable underlying dataset supports the classification. Industry categories are not inferred from GST revenue data and then presented as new GST registrations.

This distinction is important because taxpayer registrations, tax collections, company registrations, startup registrations and MSME registrations represent different datasets and populations.

Calculations

Where percentages are not directly published by the source, they are calculated from the underlying figures.

For example:

\[ \text{State Share} = \frac{\text{State New Taxpayers}} {\text{India New Taxpayers}} \times100 \]

The national denominator used for the principal FY 2023–24 state analysis is 64,89,906 new taxpayers. GST Tutorial

Rounded values may therefore produce minor differences when percentages are added together.

Ranking methodology

States are ranked according to the number of new taxpayers recorded in FY 2023–24, not according to:

• GST revenue
• total active taxpayers
• net registrations
• GDP
• number of companies
• number of MSMEs

This distinction is important because a state’s position can differ significantly depending on which metric is being measured.

Treatment of missing or unsupported data

Where a required public dataset is unavailable, the report does not create a proxy and label it as the original metric.

For example, the public GSTN statistical report provides detailed state-level new-taxpayer counts but does not provide an equivalent complete national industry × state new-registration table. Consequently, the report treats industry-level claims cautiously rather than presenting unsupported rankings.