GSTN public data: what is searchable, what is not
GSTIN search returns specific public fields. Knowing the boundary is the difference between lawful enrichment and a compliance liability.
The GST taxpayer search at services.gst.gov.in returns a defined set of fields for any valid GSTIN: legal name, trade name, address (principal place of business), nature of business, registration date, taxpayer type (regular, composition, casual), and active/inactive status.
These fields are public by statutory mandate. They are designed to let counterparties verify a GSTIN before issuing an invoice. Kestrel ingests them daily for the working set, monthly for the long tail.
What is not public: turnover figures from GST returns (GSTR-1, GSTR-3B), ITC claimed, buyer-supplier graphs, return-filing history. Those data are visible to the taxpayer and to the GST authority, not to the public. Any vendor claiming to have these is either licensed by GSTN or breaking the law.
The boundary matters because GSTN-derived turnover and buyer-supplier data would be highly valuable for credit risk and B2B prospecting. The official GST Suvidha Provider channel sells licensed access to some of this; pricing is enterprise-tier. Kestrel's default is to stay within the public boundary and offer enterprise licensing for the segment that needs more.
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