GST Registration – A GIST of All Relevant Provisions

CA Sandeep Kanoi 02 Sep 2018 12,711 Views 1 comment Print Goods and Services Tax | Articles, Featured, Trending

Introduction –

Goods and Service Tax (GST) in simple terms can be said to be an indirect tax, levied in India, on the supply of goods or services or both. Goods and Service Tax has been made applicable in India from 1^st July, 2017 and the same has replaced various cascading taxes levied by the Central and State Government in India.

Following taxes are subsumed under GST –

Central Taxes –

1. Central excise duty;

2. Additional excise duties;

3. Excise duty levied under the Medical Preparations (Excise Duties) Act, 1955;

4. Service Tax;

5. Additional Customs Duty (CVD);

6. Special Additional Duty of Customs (SAD);

7. Surcharge and cesses on central tax

State Taxes –

1. VAT / Sales tax;

2. Entertainment tax (other than a tax levied by local bodies)

3. Central Sales Tax (CST);

4. Octroi and entry tax;

5. Purchase tax;

6. Luxury tax;

7. Taxes on a lottery, betting and gambling;

8. Surcharge and cesses on state tax

In nut-shell instead of all the above taxes only GST is to be paid / charged. Amalgamation of all the above taxes into a single tax would mitigate cascading or double taxation effect.

Current article highlights the entire procedure and provisions involved in GST registration like GST Registration procedure, list of documents required for obtaining GST registration, time limit for obtaining GST registration, GST registration number and its structure, persons liable for obtaining GST registration and persons exempt from obtaining the same, steps to check GST registration status, GST registration certificate, cancellation of GST registration, revocation of cancelled GST registration, etc.

ONLINE PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING GST REGISTRATION –

Stepwise simple procedure to be followed for obtaining GST registration is summarized hereunder –

1. Visit site https://www.gst.gov.in/.

2. Navigate path Services > Registration > New Registration.

3. Part A of FORM GST REG – 01 following details needs to be provided –

Category of person i.e. taxpayer, tax deductor, tax collector etc.
State / Union Territory.
District.
Legal name of the business (as appearing in the PAN).
PAN (Permanent Account Number).
E-mail address.
Mobile Number.

4. One Time Password (i.e OTP) would be received on the respective e-mail address and mobile number for verification of the same.

5. On completion of verification of e-mail address and mobile number, an application reference number on the registered e-mail address and a mobile number would be received.

6. On receipt of application reference number, the applicant needs to fill part B of FORM REG-01. Part B of FORM REG-01 contains details relating to business, promoter / partners, bank account etc.

7. Required documents need to be attached before submitting part B of FORM REG-01.

8. Once all the details are filled up, documents are attached and form submitted using the DSC or EVC, the application procedure comes to an end.

List Of Documents Required For Obtaining GST Registration

1. Copy of PAN.

2. Copy of partnership deed or Memorandum of Association (MOA) / Article of Association (AOA) or Certificate of incorporation.

3. Proof of principal place of business –

In case of rental premises –

Rent / Lease agreement;
Rent receipt with NOC

In case of owned premises –

Legal ownership document;
Municipal Khata Copy;
Electricity bill;
Property tax receipt.

Please note any one of the above-mentioned document is to be submitted.

4. Proof of details of bank account –

Pass Book’s first page;
Copy of Bank statement;
Cancelled Cheque.

5. Proof of details of proprietor, partners or directors, as the case may be –

Photo;
Identity proof.

Procedure Post Applying For GST Registration And Issuance Of GST Registration Certificate

Once the application is completed by the applicant as narrated above, the following are the action and additional steps which are required to be followed –

1. In case any additional information is required by the GST officer, the same will be intimated to the applicant in FORM GST REG – 03.

2. The applicant on receipt of FORM GST REG – 03 are required to submit additional information, as required, within a period of 7 working days in FORM GST REG – 04.

3. In case all the information as required is received by the officer, the registration certificate will be issued in FORM GST REG – 06.

4. However, in case the details submitted are not satisfactory, the registration application would be rejected in FORM GST REG – 05.

It must be noted that GST registration certificate in FORM GST REG – 06 is to be downloaded from the GST portal and is required to be displayed at the principal place of business and at every additional place of business.

Time Limit For Obtaining GST Registration –

Persons who are liable for obtaining GST registration (as per provisions of section 22 of the Act) and persons liable for compulsory registration (as per provisions of section 24 of the Act) are required to apply for GST registration within a period of 30 days from the date on which the persons become liable to registration.

Casual taxable person and non-resident taxable persons are required to apply for GST registration at least 5 days prior to the commencement of business.

Penalty For Failure To apply GST Registration

As per provisions of section 122 (xi) of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act (CGST) Act, 2017 when person liable to be registered under GST fails to obtain the registration, then, he shall be liable to pay penalty of INR 10,000 or an amount equivalent to the tax evaded, whichever is higher.

Structural Formation Of GST Registration Number (i.e. GSTIN)

Goods and Service Tax Identification Number (GSTIN) is a 15 digit number issued to the applicant. The first two digit represents state code, next 10 digits represents PAN, 13^th digit represents a number of registration of the business entity, 14^th digit is default digit and 15^th digit represents check code.

Fees For Obtaining GST Registration

The government doesn’t charge any amount for granting of GST registration.

Certain Cases Wherein Registration Under GST Is Compulsory –

1. The person engaged in supplying taxable supply of goods or services or both and having an aggregate turnover of more than INR 20 Lakhs (INR 10 Lakhs in case of special category states);

2. The person engaged in inter-state taxable supply;

3. Non-resident taxable person;

4. Casual taxable person;

5. Input service distributor;

6. Intermediary service provider;

7. E-commerce operator;

8. The person supplying through E-commerce operator;

9. The person who needs to pay GST under reverse charge mechanism.

Certain Cases Wherein Persons Are Not Liable For Obtaining GST Registration

1. Persons engaged in supply that is not liable to tax or is wholly exempt from tax;

2. An agriculturist.

3. Individual advocates (including senior advocates);

4. Individual sponsorship service providers (including players);

5. Persons engaged in the inter-state supply of services and having an aggregate turnover of less than INR 20 Lakhs (INR 10 Lakhs in a special case);

6. A person engaged in supply on which tax is payable by the recipient on a reverse charge basis.

Mandatory Pan Requirement For GST Registration And Exception To The Same

In order to obtain GST registration, it is mandatory to have PAN (i.e. Permanent Account Number) issued under the Income Tax Act, 1961. In other words, without having PAN, a person cannot apply for GST registration.

However, there is an exception to the above mandatory requirement of PAN. In case the person is required to deduct tax at source and the said person doesn’t have PAN then he can apply for GST registration on the basis of Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number issued under the Income Tax Act. In such case PAN requirement is not mandatory.

Further, in the case of a non-resident taxable person, GST registration can be applied for on the basis of Tax Identification Number or Unique Number, in case PAN is not available.

Steps To Check GST Registration Status –

1. Visit site https://www.gst.gov.in/.

2. Navigate path Services > Registration > Track Application Status.

3. Enter ARN i.e Application Reference Number received and click on SEARCH option.

4. On clicking the SEARCH option ARN will reflect any of the following status –

Provisional or Pending for verification or Validation against error or Migrated or Cancelled.

Cancellation Of GST Registration

GST registration can be cancelled by the taxpayer himself or by the officer on his own accord or by the legal heirs.

In case taxpayer himself applies for cancellation of GST registration he has to apply for the same in FORM GST REG – 16 along with appropriate reason for cancellation. In case the officer has a reason to cancel the GST registration he has to issue a show cause notice in FORM GST REG – 17 to the taxpayer and the same needs to be appropriately replied by the taxpayer in FORM GST REG – 18.

Revocation Of Cancelled GST Registration

Revocation of cancelled GST registration is possible only in case registration has been cancelled by the proper officer on his own motion. The applicant can file an online application in FORM GST REG – 21 with appropriate reason for revocation within a period of 30 days from the date of service of order of cancellation.

Click here how to Track GST Registration Application Status