GST Registration in India

What GST registration is

Goods and Services Tax is a destination-based indirect tax on the supply of goods and services, levied under the CGST Act, 2017 and the corresponding State Act. A person who is liable to pay GST must first be registered. That registration produces a Goods and Services Tax Identification Number, or GSTIN.

The GSTIN is a 15-character number and its structure is worth understanding, because it explains several rules that follow. The first two digits are the code of the state in which the registration is taken. The next ten characters are the PAN of the registered person. The thirteenth digit identifies the number of registrations held on that PAN within the state, the fourteenth is currently Z by default, and the fifteenth is a check digit.

Because the state code sits inside the number, registration is state-specific. A business making supplies from premises in two states needs two registrations, one per state, on the same PAN. Within a single state, separate premises are normally covered by one registration, declaring one principal place of business and the others as additional places of business — though a separate registration for each place of business is allowed if you want one.

Registration is what makes three things legally possible: charging GST on a tax invoice, claiming input tax credit on purchases, and passing credit down the chain to a customer. An unregistered person who is liable to register can do none of these, and is exposed to tax, interest and penalty for the period of default.

The statutory provisions are at CBIC, and applications are filed on the GST portal.

Who needs GST registration

There are two separate tests. The first is the turnover threshold. The second is a list of categories that must register regardless of turnover — including at nil turnover. Most disputes we see arise because a business checked only the first test.

Turnover thresholds

Most states apply the higher thresholds; a few special-category states apply lower ones. The limit that counts is the one for the state from which you supply — and if you supply from more than one state, the lower limit applies. Aggregate turnover is computed across all supplies on the same PAN, on an all-India basis, and includes exempt and export supplies — not only taxable sales.

The mixed-supply row catches people out. A trader with ₹35 lakh of goods sales who also earns ₹2 lakh of commission income is supplying services as well, and the ₹20 lakh threshold applies to the combined figure.

Compulsory registration irrespective of turnover

• Any person making an inter-state taxable supply of goods.
• Persons selling through an e-commerce operator, and e-commerce operators themselves.
• Casual taxable persons — for example, an exhibitor taking a stall at a trade fair in another state.
• Non-resident taxable persons supplying into India.
• Persons liable to pay tax under the reverse charge mechanism.
• Input Service Distributors.
• Agents supplying on behalf of another taxable person, and persons required to deduct tax at source under GST.

Voluntary registration

A person below the threshold may register voluntarily. This is a commercial decision, and it is not costless: from the date of registration the full compliance obligation applies, including nil returns in months with no activity. It usually makes sense where customers are registered businesses who need input tax credit, where the business intends to sell on a marketplace or across state lines, or where a tender or bank facility requires a GSTIN. It rarely makes sense for a purely local B2C business with modest turnover.

Regular scheme or composition scheme

The scheme is chosen at registration and determines the rate, the credit position and the filing load. Switching mid-year is possible but disruptive, so the choice deserves a few minutes of thought before the application is submitted.

The simplified registration route under Rule 14A

Separately from the scheme choice, an optional simplified registration route is available under Rule 14A of the CGST Rules. It is open to applicants whose self-assessed monthly output tax liability on supplies to registered persons — CGST, SGST, IGST and cess together — is not expected to exceed ₹2.5 lakh.

The applicant selects Yes against the Rule 14A option in Form REG-01. Aadhaar authentication is mandatory for the primary authorised signatory and at least one promoter or partner, and registration is then granted electronically within three working days of the ARN. A person registered under this rule cannot take a second registration in the same state on the same PAN under the same rule. Withdrawal from the route is possible but requires all returns to be up to date and a minimum filing history.

For a small or new business with modest B2B output tax, this is materially faster than the standard route. For a larger applicant it is not available, and the standard timeline applies.

Documents required

Documents fall into three groups: proof of the entity, proof of the persons behind it, and proof of the premises. The premises documents cause most rejections, so the validity conditions below matter as much as the list.

Common to all applicants

• PAN of the business or of the proprietor.
• Proof of the principal place of business — latest electricity bill, property tax receipt or municipal khata copy. Utility bills should not be older than two months at the date of filing.
• Where the premises are rented: the rent or lease agreement, together with the owner's utility bill and a no-objection certificate from the owner.
• Bank account proof — a cancelled cheque, the first page of the passbook or a bank statement showing the name, account number and IFSC. This may be furnished after registration, but within the prescribed period.
• Passport-size photographs of the promoters, partners or directors.
• Aadhaar of the promoters, partners or directors and of the authorised signatory, for authentication.
• Mobile number and email address that will remain under the business's control — all portal communication and OTPs go there.

Additional, by constitution of business

A company or LLP must sign the application with a digital signature. A proprietorship or partnership may use Aadhaar-based electronic verification instead.

The registration process, step by step

1. Part A of Form REG-01

   PAN, mobile number, email and state are submitted on the GST portal. PAN is validated against the income tax database and the mobile and email are verified by OTP. A Temporary Reference Number is generated, valid for fifteen days.

2. Part B — the substantive application

   Using the TRN, the full application is completed: constitution of the business, details of every promoter or partner, the authorised signatory, the principal and any additional places of business, the top HSN codes for goods and SAC codes for services, bank details, and the choice of the regular or composition scheme. Where eligible, the Rule 14A option is selected here. The business address is also pinned on the portal's map tool.

3. Aadhaar authentication

   The promoters and the authorised signatory authenticate by Aadhaar OTP. Where authentication is not completed, or where the application is flagged as higher risk, the portal directs the applicant to biometric authentication and document verification at a GST Suvidha Kendra, by appointment. Applicants are frequently routed this way, so it is worth planning for.

4. Submission and ARN

   The application is signed with a digital signature or electronic verification code and submitted. An Application Reference Number is issued immediately and is used to track status.

5. Departmental scrutiny

   The officer may raise a query in Form REG-03. A reply is due in Form REG-04 within seven working days of the notice. This is the stage at which most applications stall — not because of the query itself, but because the notice sits unread in the portal until the deadline has passed.

6. Grant of registration

   On approval, Form GST REG-06 is issued with the GSTIN, downloadable from the portal. Where no action is taken by the officer within the prescribed period, registration is deemed granted and the GSTIN is generated automatically.

7. Post-registration steps

   Valid bank account details must be furnished within the prescribed period after registration if they were not filed with the application, and in any case before the first outward-supply return. The registration certificate must be displayed at the principal place of business and at every additional place, and the GSTIN must appear on the business's signboard. Invoicing is then switched to GST-compliant tax invoices and the first return cycle begins.

What follows registration — returns, due dates and penalties

Registration is the beginning of a recurring obligation, not a one-time formality. Returns are due whether or not there is any business activity in the period.

Note that a cancelled registration does not end the obligation. Returns outstanding for the period before cancellation remain due, and the final return in GSTR-10 must still be filed.

Correcting a mistake in a return you've already filed

A GST return can't be edited once it's filed — there's no "revise" button on a submitted GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B. What to do about a mistake depends entirely on timing: whether it's caught before or after that period's GSTR-1 is filed, and whether the correction is made before or after GSTR-3B for the same period follows it.

A short example makes the "differential liability" point concrete. An invoice was originally reported at a taxable value of ₹1,00,000 (₹18,000 GST at 18%), and the correct figure turns out to be ₹1,10,000 (₹19,800 GST). Amending that invoice doesn't reopen the whole ₹1,18,000 transaction — it adds ₹10,000 to taxable value and ₹1,800 to tax in the period the amendment is made, and that ₹1,800 differential is the only amount that actually affects that period's liability.

The short version: if this period's GSTR-1 isn't filed yet, fix the invoice directly. If it's already filed, amend the original invoice — through GSTR-1A for the same period, or through the amendment table of a later GSTR-1 — rather than uploading it again as a new one. Whatever the mistake, check it against the 30 November cut-off before it becomes unfixable for that year.

Practical notes from our engagements

The statutory position is straightforward. Applications still get rejected or delayed, and the reasons repeat. These are the ones we encounter most often.

• Name mismatch between PAN and Aadhaar. A middle name present on one document and absent on the other, an initial expanded on one and not the other, or a different spelling is enough to fail authentication. Check both before filing, not after the application is stuck.
• The map pin not agreeing with the address proof. The location pinned on the portal is compared against the uploaded document. A pin dropped on the wrong floor of a building or on an adjacent door number invites a query.
• Rent agreements without a no-objection certificate. A registered lease is not by itself sufficient where the landlord's own utility bill and NOC are not attached. For premises taken from a family member, a simple consent letter with the owner's bill is usually accepted.
• Biometric appointments treated as optional. Where the portal routes an application to a GST Suvidha Kendra, the application does not progress until the appointment is attended, in person, by the specific person named. Applicants frequently lose two or three weeks here.
• Premises in more than one district. An office in one city with a factory or warehouse elsewhere in the same state is normally one registration with additional places of business declared, not two registrations. Getting this wrong at the application stage means an amendment later, and in the meantime e-way bill and invoicing addresses do not reconcile.
• HSN or SAC codes chosen loosely. The codes declared at registration should reflect what the business actually supplies. A mismatch between the declared codes and the codes used on invoices and in GSTR-1 surfaces later in scrutiny and in credit mismatches at the customer's end.
• Voluntary registration taken without thinking through the load. Businesses register to win one B2B customer and then discover that nil returns are still due every month, that late fees accrue on nil returns, and that cancelling is its own process. Register when the commercial case is real.
• Bank account details left pending. The registration is granted, the business starts invoicing, and the bank details are never furnished — which blocks the return filing when it matters.

Related services

• GST return filingthe monthly and quarterly cycle that begins once the GSTIN is issued.
• GST LUT filingfor exporters supplying without payment of IGST.
• E-invoicing setupapplicable once aggregate turnover crosses the notified limit.
• GST notice and reply handlingwhere a registration or return has attracted departmental attention.
• GST registration amendmentto change address, signatory, partners or bank details.
• Private limited company registrationwhere GST registration is part of setting up a new entity.
• GST composition schemea simpler option for small businesses.
• GST for foreign businessesnon-resident taxable persons.

Frequently asked questions