All about Casual Registration under GST

In this article we are going to study the provisions of Casual taxable person and Casual registration under GST with practical insights into the procedure for Casual Registration.

Ques: Who is a Casual taxable person?

Ans: As per Section 2(20) of the CGST Act, 2017, “casual taxable person” means a person who occasionally undertakes transactions involving supply of goods or services or both in the course or furtherance of business, whether as principal, agent or in any other capacity, in a State or a Union territory where he has no fixed place of business;

Therefore, if a person undertakes any business activity which is taxable under GST and such business activity is temporary or occasional and will last for a short period of time in a state where the person does not have his usual place of business, then he is required to take registration in such other state as a casual taxable person in order to undertake transactions.

An example of casual registration is participation in an exhibition in another state. When a taxable person participates in an exhibition outside the state where his usual place of registration is, then he should register as a casual taxable person in order to undertake sale and purchase of goods in that other state.

A Casual registration is a temporary registration which is applicable for a maximum of 90 days.

Ques: Is there a different procedure for applying as casual taxable person under GST?

Ans: The procedure for applying as a casual taxable person is the same as for a normal/regular tax payer.

While applying for registration normally on the GST portal, the system asks whether you are applying for registration as a casual taxable person. One needs to click ‘yes’ in this tab in order to apply as a casual taxable person.

This is the only difference between applying for registration as a casual taxable person.

Ques: When should a person apply for registration as a casual taxable person?

Ans: A casual taxable person shall electronically submit an application at least five days prior to the commencement of business.

Ques: When can a person start making supplies as a casual taxable person?

Ans: A person can start making supplies as a casual taxable person only after the issuance of the certificate of registration.

Ques: Do we need to pay the tax in advance in case of Casual Registration?

Ans: Yes in case of Casual registration the tax needs to be paid in advance. The applicant needs to estimate his value of supplies and his tax liability in advance and needs to pay the whole of the estimated tax before applying for casual registration.

The estimated value of supplies and the estimated tax need to be given in the application form at the time of applying for registration.

Ques: What if we pay excess tax in advance? Can the excess tax be refunded?

Ans: Yes, the excess tax paid in advance can be refunded at the time of filing for surrender of registration after all the returns have been filed.

Ques: What do we need to do if the tax deposited in advance is less than tax liability on the supplies made after registration?

Ans: In this case you will need to deposit the extra tax payable on the supplies. In the opinion of the author there will no interest on the extra tax liability if deposited within the due date specified under section 39 (7) of the CGST Act’2017.

Ques: What is the period for validity under Casual registration?

Ans: A Casual registration shall be valid for the period specified in the application for Registration or ninety days from the effective date of registration, whichever is earlier.

Ques: Can the registration be extended?

Ans: Yes, you can extend your Registration as a Casual Taxable Person once for an additional period of 90 days, if you apply for extension of registration before the expiry of the initial period for which registration was granted.

If the business is still not concluded, then the dealer needs to apply for permanent GST registration in the state as extension cannot be applied for a second time.

Ques: What are the documents/information required for applying for Casual GST Registration?

Ans: The documents/information required for Casual GST registration are same as a normal registration except that there may be different documents regarding the place of business where the business is to be carried on since the place of business maybe temporary in this case.

For example, In case of casual registration for exhibition purposes, copy of documents relating to the exhibition are required such as Documents relating to payment for booth allocation, communication/consent letter allotting space for the exhibition on the letter head of the owner etc.

Following documents are required for Casual GST Registration:

1. Business/Trade Name, Copy of PAN of the applicant.
2. Mobile No. and Email address for communication and OTP purposes.
3. Existing registration of the applicant if any. (Ex: GSTIN, Incorporation document or registration with any other authority like MCA)
4. Copy of Incorporation document evidencing the existence of the applicant (Eg: Copy of Partnership deed, company incorporation certificate etc.)
5. Details of promoters/partners/directors etc of the applicant along with copy of their address proofs and ID proofs such as Aadhar card, PAN, Photo, Email ID, Mobile No.
6. Bank Details: documents such as Cancelled Cheque of firm/Copy of passbook or bank statement with the name of the applicant are required.
7. Details of Principal Place of Businesse address alongwith documents evidencing ownership of the premises such as Electricity Bill or Property Tax Receipt or legal ownership document of the place where business is to be carried on.
8. If any additional place of business the same documents as above are required.
9. Nature of business carried out by applicant. Also specify top 5 products or services provided by the applicant.
10. Authorization letter provided on the applicant’s Letter Head to authorize one or more persons for signing all documents related to GST. Authorization letter to be signed by the persons other than the authorized signatories. Authorisation letter is not required in case of proprietorship.
11. State specific registration if applicable.
12. Payment of tax (challan) on the estimated supplies made during the period of Casual registration.

Ques: What are the returns to be filed by a casual tax payer?

Ans: A Casual taxable person has to furnish the same returns as a normal tax payer. A Casual taxable person has to furnish the returns in form GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for the time being.

However, a casual taxable person does not have to file an annual return.

(The author is the founder of youronlinefilings.com an online platform for filing income tax returns, company incorporation, accounting/bookkeeping, audits, Fema related compliances etc. He can be contacted at: info@youronlinefilings.com or capratikanand@gmail.com or Mobile: +91-9953199493)