So far through my series on GST awareness write-ups I had covered the basic structure of GST and how it will be administered both at the central as well as state government level. Going forward todays article will throw light on the all-important registration process of enrolling your business entity under Goods and Service Tax regime (GST).
Who should register??
Persons required to register under GST can be broadly classified under 3 categories. Firstly persons having a valid PAN and existing registration under present indirect tax laws i.e. VAT, Service Tax, or Central Excise. Next are persons crossing the threshold limit of GST ie aggregate turnover of Rs 19 lakh to register and Rs 20 lakh for payment of tax or those desirous to obtain voluntary registration under GST. And lastly registration for certain key compliance/specified assesses such as causal traders, persons liable to TDS (tax deducted at source), non-resident persons, etc.
The registration Process
Entities holding existing registration can enrol under GST by migrating using the GST portal. For this assesses have to obtain a provisional identification and password from the state VAT website or ACES website (as the case may be) and use them to access the GST portal. The provisional ID is a temporary ID provided by current indirect tax authorities to enable existing assesses to access the GST portal for the first time. Having accessed or logged into the GST portal the assesse will be required to create a new user ID and password. The assesse can obtain a provisional GST registration number once the new user ID has been created. Subsequently the assesse is required to upload prescribed information such as proof of constitution of business, director details etc. on the portal to generate an application reference number (ARN) to complete the application for migration. However the procedure for registration of assesses who are not registered under the present indirect tax regime has not yet been processed.
What Documents??
The assesse has to submit the following documents required for GST registration. PAN card of the assesse, Proof of constitution like partnership deed, Memorandum of Association (MOA) /Articles of Association (AOA), certificate of incorporation. Details and proof of place of business like rent agreement or electricity bill. Cancelled cheque of the assesses bank account showing name of account holder, MICR code, IFSC code and bank branch details, Authorized signatory like List of partners with their identity and address proof in case of partnership firm or List of directors with their identity and address proof in case of company.
Effective date of
registration.
Where the application for registration has been submitted within thirty days from the date on which the person becomes liable to registration, the effective date of registration shall be date of his liability for registration.
Where an application for registration has been submitted by the applicant after thirty days from the date of his becoming liable to registration, the effective date of registration shall be the date of grant of registration.
In case of suomoto registration, i.e. taking registration voluntarily while being within the threshold exemption limit for paying tax, the effective date of registration shall be the date of order of registration.
Separate registration for each state
If assesse is operating in different states, with the same PAN number he cannot operate with a single registration. Which means businesses operating in different states will be required to obtain new registration for each of the states they operate from even though the business is operating under a common PAN number. Moreover entities having multiple business verticals in a state can obtain separate registration for each of the business verticals subject to conditions as may be prescribed. Registration certificate once granted is permanent unless surrendered, cancelled, suspended or revoked.
If you are running your business in India, it’s important for you to be GST compliant. Registration is the beginning of the journey through GST, this article was mainly aimed to pave way to lay the first step towards a smooth transition from the existing indirect tax laws to the newer GST regime. Shall be back with yet another aspect of GST, until then stay focused.
