Goods and Service Tax Registration online at INR 1,999 now

When the registration certificate is granted to the taxpayer, the taxpayer is liable to pay GST on outward supplies made during the period. The normal returns (GSTR-3B and GSTR-1) start from the month GST registration is granted. Many taxpayers fail to file their returns after taking registration and end up paying a large amount of late fees.

GST Registration can be done without Bank Account also. However, in 45 days, the bank account details are required to be updated on to the GST portal. A pop up will appear every time you log in to the GST portal which would appear like this.

“Dear Taxpayer, As per Rule 10A, it is mandatory to furnish the bank account details within 45 days from the date of grant of registration or the date on which return required under Section 39 is due to be furnished, whichever is earlier.

Kindly update your bank account details. GSTIN registration may be cancelled is such details are not updated within the prescribed time”

For proprietors, a savings account can be added also. So, it’s not mandatory to add a Current account before registering for GST.

The Government does not charge any amount for GST Registration whether it is for proprietorship, partnership, company, or any other entity. However, GST Registration fees is charged by the professionals who register the person in GST. 

The fees depend upon the type of entity that is getting registered in GST. It will be higher for the company and lower for proprietorship.

Step 1: Click on the “Services” button on the top bar

Step 2: Click on the “Registration” button in the drop-down menu

Step 3: Now, click on “New Registration” if registering for the first time

Step 4: Fill in Part A and Part B

Step 5: GST registration will be granted within 2 to 6 days.

Under GST, businesses whose aggregate turnover exceeds Rs. 20 lakhs* (Rs 10 lakhs for Northeast and hill states known as special category states ) are required to register as a normal taxable person. This process of registration under GST is called GST registration.

However, for some businesses registration under GST  is compulsory. If the organization carries on business without registering under GST, it will be an offense under GST and heavy penalties will apply.

GST registration takes 3 to 6 days, and in case of any objection. The department communicates with you directly to resolve the objection.

CBIC has notified the increase in threshold turnover from Rs 20 lakhs to Rs 40 lakhs exclusively for goods. The notification will come into effect from 1st April 2019. Some states have opted for a new limit, while some are following the old limit only.

• Persons making an interstate taxable supply.
• Persons who are required to pay tax under reverse charge.
• Persons who make a taxable supply of goods and services or both on behalf of other taxable persons whether as an agent or otherwise.
• Input service distributor.
• Persons who are required to deduct TDS under Section 51, whether or not registered under this act.
• Casual taxable persons making taxable supply.
• Non Resident taxable persons making taxable supply.
• Persons who are supplying goods and services through an e-commerce operator(Amazon, Flipkart) who is required to collect tax collected at source.
• E-commerce operators
• All other persons who are providing OIDAR (Online Information Database Access and retrieval services) from a place outside India to a person in India, other than a registered person.

E-Commerce operators like Amazon and Flipkart are mandatorily required to be registered in GST. Entities who sell online on these platforms like Flipkart and Amazon require GST Registration only if they have crossed the threshold limit of INR 20 lacs aggregate turnover. In case, the threshold limit is not exceeded then registration is not required however most E-Commerce operators require GST Registration before onboarding a seller on their platform.

Read: GST Returns for e-commerce sellers

Section 23 of the CGST Act,2017 deals with persons not liable for GST Registration. The following persons are not required to register in GST.

• Engaged in the exclusive supply of goods and services or both that are not liable to tax or are wholly exempt from tax.
• An agriculturist, to the extent of supply of produce out of cultivation of land.
• Persons who are only engaged in making supplies on which tax is liable to be paid under a reverse charge basis.
• Any person who turnover does not exceed specified limits.

• A person liable to be registered shall apply within 30 days from the date on which he becomes liable.
• A casual taxable person or a non-resident taxable person is to apply for registration at least 5 days prior to the commencement of business.
• A person making supply from the territorial waters of India to obtain registration in the coastal state or Union territory where the nearest point of the appropriate baseline is located.
• Also, a person having a unit in Special Economic Zone shall have to apply for separate registration, as distinct from his place of business located outside the Special economic zone in the same state or union territory.

The permanent account number forms the part of GST number. The next ten digits after the first two digits of the GST number form part of PAN only. A person shall have a PAN in order to be eligible for a grant of registration. However, these are the exceptions.

• A person required to deduct TDS
• A Non-resident taxable person

In case Aadhar Authentication is not done, an officer would come from the GST department to physically verify the place of business and registration would be granted in 30 days at least.

A person who is not liable to be registered under Section 22(Normal GST registration) or Section 24 (Casual taxable person) may get himself registered voluntarily. In the case of voluntary registration, all provisions of this Act, are as applicable to a registered person, shall apply to a voluntarily registered person.

• In the case of an inverted tax structure (that is output tax rate is lower than the input tax rate), it’s beneficial to get registered and pay the tax liability, and avail of an input tax credit.
• Customers may prefer or even insist to deal only with a registered business. This is particularly when customers are GST registered as such customer will fall under reverse charge if his vendors or supplier is unregistered.
• Some businesses such as contractors may decide to register to avoid an embarrassment caused by revealing the fact that their annual taxable supply is below the threshold limit of Rs. 20 lakhs.

• The proper officer finds that a person liable for registration has failed to register for GST.
• Temporary registration shall be ordered in FORM GST REG-12. It shall be effective from the date of the order granting registration.
• Application for registration is to be made within 90 days from the date of the grant of such temporary registration.
• In case of an appeal against the grant of temporary registration, then the application for registration shall be submitted within 30 days from the date of issuance of the order upholding the liability to registration.

Under Rule 8, Procedure for application for registration.

1. Applicability: Every person seeking voluntary registration, a person paying tax under composition levy, the casual taxable person
2. Application and declaration of information should be made in Form GST REG-01.
3. Information to be furnished in Common portal (PART -A) like PAN, Mobile number, E-mail address, State or Union territory.
4. Verification of information declared shall be made by the GST department.
5. On successful verification, a TRN( Temporary Reference Number) shall be granted.
6. Electronic submission of Application of in Part B of Form GST REG-01 duly signed through Digital signature or verified via EVC (OTP)
7. The acknowledgment shall be issued electronically to the applicant in Form GST REG-02.
8. The status of the GST Registration application can be checked using the ARN number.

In case the GST Registration application is accepted, a GST Registration Certificate in GST REG-06 is issued. While, if there is any query a show cause notice is issued. A show-cause notice in GST Needs to be downloaded and a clarification needs to be submitted in response to the query.

If GST Officer accepts the response, GST Registration will be granted otherwise GST Registration will be rejected. Read how to find out GST Rejection reasons.

• An applicant shall be issued with a certificate of registration in Form GST REG-06 and a goods and services tax identification number (GSTIN) of 15 digit number shall be assigned.
• Certificate of Registration shall be signed or verified EVC by the proper officer.

The effective date of registration:

Display of Registration certificate and GSTIN on the name board at the entry and in a prominent location at his principal place of business and additional place of business.

The GSTIN should be displayed in bold letters so as to be easily visible to visitors, especially to customers and vendors.

The fields viz core fields and non-core fields in GST registration can be amended later on after the certificate of registration has been granted.

• Intimation of any changes in the information furnished to be made to the proper officer within 15 days.
• Amendments in the noncore field can be made directly on the common portal but approval is required for amendments in the core fields. Noncore fields like updating mobile numbers and emails in GST can be done directly.
• The effective date of amendment in registration can be earlier than the date of submission of the application for the amendment only when the commissioner orders the same for reasons to be recorded in writing.

Permission of proper officer is required if the change relates to core fields of information such as

• The legal name of the business
• Address of Principal and additional place of business
• Addition, deletion, or retirement of Partners or Directors, Karta, Managing Committee, Board of Trustees, Chief Executive Officer, or equivalent responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the business. Change of such particulars shall be applicable for all registrations of a registered person obtained under provisions of this chapter on the same PAN.

The proper officer may approve or reject amendments in the registration particulars. Any rejection or approval of amendments under the SGST or UTGST act shall be deemed to be a rejection or approval under CGST. 

A letter of authorization is a document that authorizes a person to act on behalf of a registered taxpayer. It gives power to the authorized person to sign the returns and to represent in front of GST officers. It is mandatorily required for entities other than individuals, however, individuals persons registering for GST can appoint themselves as primary authorized signatory without attaching the said letter.

A non-objection certificate or consent letter is a document that provides consent to the registered person to use the property for purpose of business. During the GST registration process, there is an option to select the principal place of business as ‘consented’. When the option consented is selected, there is a need to attach a consent letter. The consent letter should be properly signed by the owner of the property. In some states in India, a consent letter is required on stamp paper also. 

Once GST registration is rejected, the application can be filed again. There is no limit prescribed on the number of applications on the same PAN number. 

A temporary Reference Number is the number issued once PART A of the GST registration application is filed on the GST portal. The TRN number is received on the registered Mobile Number and Email address provided by the registered person. Further, PART B of the GST registration application is filed using the TRN number only. TRN number is of utmost importance, as without a TRN number one cannot access the show cause notice issued to the registered person and check the application filed.

SCN reference number or Show Cause Notice number is the number of the notice issued to the person who files the GST registration application. The number is used to search the notice issued, only after accessing the GST portal via the TRN number.

For every application filed on the GST portal, An Acknowledgement reference number (ARN) is issued to the person on email and phone number. It validates that the application has been filed on the GST portal and assists in tracking the status of the application. 

In case the GST registration application is rejected. The next application should be filed after rectification of the previously committed mistake. Now the major challenge is to know what was the reason for the rejection of the application. One needs to examine the show cause notice issued thoroughly, as the primary reason for rejection is mentioned in the notice only. In case, the query is not resolved completely or additional documents are not provided to the GST officer, the GST application would be liable to get rejected.