Every GSTIN begins with a two-digit state code identifying the state or union territory that granted the registration. It is a small field that answers a surprisingly large question: where is this registration based?
Where the codes come from
The codes are the census state codes used across Indian government systems, reused by GST rather than invented for it. That is why they run in a familiar geographic order, starting in the north and working down.
A few you will meet constantly: 07 Delhi, 09 Uttar Pradesh, 19 West Bengal, 24 Gujarat, 27 Maharashtra, 29 Karnataka, 32 Kerala, 33 Tamil Nadu, 36 Telangana. The complete list, with each state's page, is on our GST state codes page.
What the code is used for
Identifying the registering state. Since GST registration is state-wise, the code tells you which registration you are looking at. A company registered in four states has four GSTINs differing in these two digits.
Determining intra-state versus inter-state supply. Compare the supplier's state code with the place of supply. Same state means CGST and SGST; different states mean IGST. This is the check that catches the most invoice errors.
Sanity-checking a document. If the address on an invoice is in one state but the GSTIN begins with another state's code, there is something to ask about. It is not automatically wrong — a business may legitimately supply from a registration in another state — but the two should make sense together.
Codes that catch people out
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The reorganisation left 36 with Telangana and 37 with Andhra Pradesh, while 28 was the old combined Andhra Pradesh code. Older records may still show 28.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. The merger of these union territories consolidated what were previously separate codes. Historical documents and current ones can differ.
Ladakh. Created as a separate union territory with its own code, previously part of Jammu and Kashmir.
97 and 99. These are not states. 97 denotes Other Territory, used for supplies in areas such as the offshore economic zone. 99 denotes Centre Jurisdiction. Seeing either is unusual but not an error.
Using the state code in practice
When you receive an invoice, read the first two digits of the supplier GSTIN before anything else. It takes a second and immediately tells you:
- which state's registration you are dealing with
- whether the tax split on the invoice should be CGST/SGST or IGST
- whether the supplier's stated location and registration line up
If the supplier has multiple registrations, make sure you are verifying the one that corresponds to the supply in question, not whichever number appears on their website footer.
State code is not the place of supply
A common conflation. The state code tells you where the supplier is registered. The place of supply is determined by rules that depend on the type of supply — where goods are delivered, where a service is performed or received, and so on. The tax split follows the relationship between the supplier's location and the place of supply, not the supplier's code alone.
Where to go next
- Browse the full GST state code list.
- Read the GSTIN format guide for the other thirteen characters.
- Read CGST, SGST and IGST explained.
- Look up a GSTIN with GST number search.