Under Goods and Services Tax (GST), businesses whose turnover exceeds the threshold limit of Rs.40 lakh or Rs.20 lakh or Rs.10 lakh as the case may be, must register as a normal taxable person. It is called GST registration.
For certain businesses, registration under GST is mandatory. If the organization carries on business without registering under GST, it is an offence under GST and heavy penalties will apply.
Who should obtain the GST registration?
Individuals registered under the Pre-GST law (i.e., Excise, VAT, Service Tax etc.)
Businesses with turnover above the threshold limit of Rs.40 lakh or Rs.20 lakh or Rs.10 lakh as the case may be
Casual taxable person / Non-Resident taxable person
Agents of a supplier & Input service distributor
Those paying tax under the reverse charge mechanism
A person who supplies via an e-commerce aggregator
Every e-commerce aggregator
Person supplying online information and database access or retrieval services from a place outside India to a person in India, other than a registered taxable person.
All about the GST registration process
GST registration can be obtained on the GST portal. One must apply for GST registration in Form REG-01 on the GST portal following steps outlined in our article “How to apply for GST registration?”
PAN of the Applicant
Aadhaar card
Proof of business registration or Incorporation certificate
Identity and Address proof of Promoters/Director with Photographs
Address proof of the place of business
Bank Account statement/Cancelled cheque
Digital Signature
Letter of Authorization/Board Resolution for Authorized Signatory
Documents Required for GST Registration for Sole Proprietor
An offender not paying tax or making short payments (genuine errors) has to pay a penalty of 10% of the tax amount due subject to a minimum of Rs.10, 000.
The penalty will at 100% of the tax amount due when the offender has deliberately evaded paying taxes
GST Registration FAQs
Yes, you are required to obtain GST registration once your turnover exceeds the specified threshold limits. Click on the hyperlink to read more about the latest GST registration limits.
If a business operates from more than one state, the taxpayer should obtain a separate GST registration for each state. For instance, If an automobile company sells in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, he has to apply for separate GST registration in Karnataka and Tamilnadu respectively.
Yes, a business can apply for any number of GST registrations within a state. The procedure of allocating multiple GST registrations only for different business verticals within a state has been removed for ease of business.
Small taxpayers who wish to have lesser compliances to deal with and lower rates of taxes under GST, can opt for the Composition scheme,
A trader whose aggregate turnover is below Rs 1.5 crore can opt for the Composition scheme. In the case of North-Eastern states and Himachal Pradesh, the present limit is Rs.75 lakh. Click here to know all about the Composition scheme.
Also, the government extended the Composition scheme to service providers having an aggregate turnover of up to Rs.50 lakhs. Click here to go through the Composition scheme for service providers.
Aggregate turnover should be taken into consideration to calculate turnover. Aggregate turnover means the aggregate value of all taxable supplies excluding inward supplies liable to reverse charge, but including exempt supplies, exports of goods or services or both and inter-state supplies of persons having the same PAN, to be computed on an all-India basis. It is to be noted that CGST, SGST, UTGST, IGST and cess should be excluded while calculating aggregate turnover.
A. For normal registered businesses:
Take input tax credit
Conduct interstate business without restrictions
Click on the link to know more about the Benefits of GST
B. For Composition dealers:
Limited compliance
Lesser tax liability
Less impact on working capital
Click on the link to know more about the composition scheme
C. For businesses that voluntarily opt-in for GST registration (Below Rs.40 lakhs*)
Avail input tax credit
Conduct interstate business without restrictions
Easily register on online & e-commerce websites
Get a competitive advantage compared to other businesses
Click on the link to know more about voluntary registrations
Each taxpayer is allotted a PAN-based 15-digit Goods and Services Taxpayer Identification Number (GSTIN) in every state that they operate. It is obtained as a part of the GST registration process. Once the GST registration application is verified and passed by the GST officer, a unique GSTIN is assigned to the business.
Any person must get a GST registration within 30 days from the date when they become liable to obtain GST registration.
If an applicant finds that their GST registration application was rejected, they will get an option to reply to the rejection letter. However, if they want to make a new GST registration application, then they must wait for a final rejection, which will take about 10 days.
Yes, a PAN card is compulsory to obtain GST registration. If one doesn’t have the PAN card, they need to obtain one before applying for the GST registration, except in the case of TDS registration under GST which is allowed with a TAN.
After obtaining the GST registration successfully, the taxpayer will get a GST registration certificate in Form GST REG-06 and gets a valid GST Identification Number. One will be eligible to avail input tax credit, raise GST-compliant invoices and must start filing GST returns monthly or quarterly, as the case may be.
