Does a business have to register on Udyam?
No. A business does not have to register on Udyam. The registration is voluntary, it carries no fee, and the certificate does not expire each year. It classifies the enterprise as micro, small, or medium. It does not create a GST registration, and it does not change the income-tax rate.
Who may register?
An enterprise that wants the certificate files on the Udyam portal with Aadhaar and PAN. A proprietorship, a partnership, an LLP, a company, or another enterprise can register. The form asks for the GSTIN only if the enterprise already has one. How the form is completed is on the Udyam page. The investment and turnover ceilings that decide the class, in force from 1 April 2025, are on the classification page.
What does the certificate do?
The certificate is what a bank or a department asks for when a scheme is limited to micro, small, or medium enterprises. It also identifies a supplier as micro or small for the 45-day payment rule. A company that buys from such a supplier, and that still owes the supplier for more than 45 days, reports that delay in Form MSME-1. The certificate does not itself file that return, and it does not itself sanction a loan.
What does it not replace?
GST registration follows the turnover and compulsory-registration rules on the GST page. Income-tax registration and the annual return follow the tax pages. An older Udyog Aadhaar or EM-II is not the current certificate. Udyam replaced those from 1 July 2020. A scheme announced for the pandemic in 2020 is not reopened by taking the certificate now. That note is on the 2020 scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Four questions cover the fee, GST, an older certificate, and Form MSME-1.
Is there a fee?
No. The Udyam portal does not charge a registration fee.
Does Udyam create a GSTIN?
No. A GST registration is a separate application. If the enterprise already has a GSTIN, that number is entered on the Udyam form. The certificate does not make GST compulsory.
Is an older Udyog Aadhaar still the certificate?
No. Udyam replaced Udyog Aadhaar and EM-II from 1 July 2020. The current certificate is the Udyam certificate.
Does a company file MSME-1 because it is registered?
No. MSME-1 is the buyer’s half-yearly report about delayed payments to micro and small suppliers. The buyer’s own Udyam certificate does not create that return.
Sources
Udyam is the MSME registration under the MSMED Act, 2006. It replaced Udyog Aadhaar from 1 July 2020. The classification ceilings from 1 April 2025 are on the classes page.