A common question from individual distributors: do I have to register for GST, and does it help me? Here is the plain-English position, what changed on 1 April 2026, and where a tool like MFD Office fits once you have a GST number.
This pairs with SEBI BER and your GST, which explains why the fund houses now pay the 18% separately, and the invoice format and SAC code.
GST registration is compulsory only when your aggregate turnover crosses 20 lakh rupees in a financial year (10 lakh in some special category states). Aggregate turnover is counted across all your income on the same PAN, all over India, so your brokerage plus any other professional or business income is added together, not each stream on its own. Below that limit, registration is optional, not required.
In practice, many active distributors cross 20 lakh once a full year of trail and upfront brokerage is added up, so for them registration is already compulsory. If you are well below the limit and only earn a small brokerage, you can choose to stay unregistered, but it is worth understanding what that now costs you.
The rule change did not make registration compulsory, but it changed what an unregistered distributor takes home.
Earlier, brokerage was paid inclusive of GST: everyone received the same headline amount, and a registered distributor carved the tax out of it. From 1 April 2026, the fund houses pay brokerage and 18% GST as two separate parts, and they release the 18% part only against a valid GST tax invoice. That invoice can be raised only by someone who is registered.
| On brokerage of about ₹100 | Registered distributor | Unregistered distributor |
|---|---|---|
| Base brokerage | about ₹84.75 | about ₹84.75 |
| 18% GST from the fund house | about ₹15.25, received then paid to the government | not paid to you at all |
| Can raise the GST invoice on KFIN or CAMS | Yes | No |
| Input tax credit on business costs | Can be claimed | Cannot be claimed |
So an unregistered distributor now receives only the base brokerage and simply does not get the roughly 15% that the fund house pays as GST. There is no reverse charge rule that makes the fund house pay that GST on an unregistered distributor's behalf, so it is money that is not received at all.
MFD Office makes the signed GST tax invoice that you raise to each fund house and upload on KFIN or CAMS, so you can claim the 18%. That invoice has to carry your GSTIN, so it only exists once you are registered.
If you do not have a GST number yet, there is no tax invoice to raise and nothing to upload, so the tool has no job to do for you at that stage. The honest answer is that MFD Office becomes useful the day you register: from then on it makes every fund house invoice for you in minutes, signed and in the exact layout each registrar expects, instead of you building each one by hand.
This is a decision for you and your CA, but the trade-off is not complicated.
What registering gives you: you receive the 18% the fund houses now pay on top of your brokerage, instead of losing it. You can also claim input tax credit on genuine business costs, such as office rent, software you pay for, and travel, which reduces the tax you finally pay. And if your turnover has crossed 20 lakh, it is required in any case.
What it asks of you: once registered, you file GST returns on time, usually GSTR-1 for your invoices and GSTR-3B for the tax, monthly or under the quarterly QRMP scheme. You raise a proper tax invoice for every fund house each month and keep one clean invoice series. This is the ongoing work that a tool like MFD Office is meant to take off your plate.
Once your GSTIN is set up in your account, MFD Office handles step 3 for every fund house at once, and can also assemble your month's invoices into a GSTR-1 file for step 4.
Upload your KFIN or CAMS file and see a real, signed invoice for one of your own fund houses, made on the spot. No signup, no card.
Try with your file, freeOnly if your aggregate turnover, across all your income on the same PAN and all over India, crosses 20 lakh rupees in a financial year (10 lakh in some special category states). Below that it is optional. Many active distributors cross the limit once all their income is added together. This is not tax advice, so confirm with your CA.
MFD Office makes the signed GST invoice you raise to each fund house and upload on KFIN or CAMS. That invoice must carry your GSTIN, so it exists only once you are registered. Without a GST number there is nothing to raise yet. The day you register, MFD Office makes every fund house invoice for you in minutes.
The fund houses now pay brokerage and 18% GST separately and release the 18% only against a valid tax invoice. An unregistered distributor cannot raise it, so on brokerage that used to come to about ₹100 all in, you now receive about ₹84.75 and do not get the roughly ₹15.25 GST part.
That is for you and your CA. Registering lets you receive the 18% the fund houses now pay and claim input tax credit on business costs, against the work of filing GST returns. Since most active distributors also cross the 20 lakh limit, it is often required anyway.
For most distributors, no. A composition dealer cannot issue an 18% invoice, so the fund houses will not reimburse the 18%. You keep only the base brokerage and still pay tax under composition. Normal registration usually fits an MFD better, but confirm with your CA.