Does your society have to charge GST?
There are two tests, and both must be met before GST applies. Most committees check only one — and register when they did not have to. Answer two questions and find out where your association actually stands.
What one flat pays the society each month towards maintenance — common-area upkeep, housekeeping, security, lifts, common electricity and water. Not property tax or a utility bill the society merely passes through.
Everything the association takes in over a year, not just maintenance — add clubhouse and hall hire, hoarding or mobile-tower rent, and similar receipts.
The registration threshold is ₹20 lakh in most of India and ₹10 lakh in certain special category states, largely in the north-east and the hill states. If you are unsure which applies, ask your CA before relying on the lower figure.
Exempt
At least one test is not met, and both are required — so the exemption stands.
Contribution over ₹7,500 / member / month
You entered ₹9,000 — crossedTurnover over ₹20 lakh a year
You entered ₹15,00,000 — not crossedOn the whole amount, or only the excess?
Assume both tests are crossed and a member pays ₹9,000 a month. Is GST charged on ₹9,000, or on the ₹1,500 above the limit? The difference is six times the tax, and the law has not settled it.
CBIC's Circular 109/28/2019 takes the position that once ₹7,500 is breached, GST is payable on the entire contribution. The Madras High Court, in Greenwood Owners Association v. Union of India (2021), held that the exemption applies to the first ₹7,500 and GST is due only on the excess.
That divergence has not been resolved nationally. The practical answer for a committee is uncomfortable but simple: put the question to your society's chartered accountant in writing, and then apply their view consistently rather than changing approach between years.
Why one test is never enough
Over ₹7,500, small society
A forty-flat society charging ₹9,000 a month crosses the contribution test and collects roughly ₹43 lakh a year — so it crosses turnover too. Change it to twelve flats and the same ₹9,000 stays well under ₹20 lakh. Exempt. The contribution figure alone tells you nothing.
Large society, modest charge
Three hundred flats at ₹4,000 a month is ₹1.44 crore of turnover and nowhere near the per-member limit. Turnover alone tells you nothing either. Both tests, every time.
Turnover is broader than the bill
Clubhouse hire, hall rental, hoarding and mobile-tower rent all count towards what the association takes in. A society close to the line should not compute this from the maintenance ledger alone.
Registration is not the same as liability
Crossing the turnover threshold can bring a registration obligation even where the maintenance supply itself is exempt, depending on what else the association receives. This is precisely where a CA earns their fee.
Society GST, answered
Is GST applicable on society maintenance charges?
Only when both tests are met at the same time: the monthly contribution per member exceeds ₹7,500, and the association's aggregate annual turnover exceeds ₹20 lakh (₹10 lakh in some special category states). Fail either test and the supply is exempt. A great many societies cross one and assume they must register, which is not the position.
Is GST charged on the whole amount or only the excess over ₹7,500?
This is genuinely unsettled and it is the most expensive question on this page. CBIC's Circular 109/28/2019 takes the position that once ₹7,500 is breached, GST is payable on the entire contribution. The Madras High Court in Greenwood Owners Association v. Union of India (2021) held that the exemption applies to the first ₹7,500 and GST is due only on the excess. The divergence has not been settled nationally. Get your chartered accountant's written opinion and apply it consistently rather than switching approaches between years.
What counts towards the ₹7,500 per member per month?
The member's contribution towards the society's own maintenance services — common-area maintenance, housekeeping, security, lift maintenance, common electricity and water, and similar running heads. Amounts a society merely collects and passes through, such as municipal property tax and electricity charges billed by the utility, are treated differently. Sinking-fund and corpus contributions raise separate questions. Confirm the composition with a CA before you decide the figure.
What is the GST rate if it does apply?
The rate on maintenance services is 18%. That only becomes relevant once both threshold tests are crossed and the association is required to register.
Does turnover mean only maintenance collections?
Aggregate turnover is broader than the maintenance bill. Amenity or clubhouse hire, hall rental, advertising hoardings, mobile-tower rent and similar receipts are part of what an association takes in, and interest income has its own treatment. If your society is anywhere near ₹20 lakh, do not compute this from the maintenance ledger alone — it is exactly the case where a CA's read is worth having.
Books your auditor can actually follow
Societly raises the bills, collects by UPI into your society's own bank account, and keeps GST-ready society accounts as it goes — so the figures this page asks for are one report, not an evening of spreadsheets. Free for societies up to 25 units.