Registration - GST Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - GST

3. Registration Q 1. What is advantage of taking registration in GST? Ans . Registration under Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime will confer following advantages to the business: Legally recognized as supplier of goods or services. Proper accounting of taxes paid on the input goods or services which can be utilized for payment of GST due on supply of goods or services or both by the business. Legally authorized to collect tax from his purchasers and pass on the credit of the taxes paid on the goods or services supplied to purchasers or recipients. Getting eligible to avail various other benefits and privileges rendered under the GST laws. Q 2. Can a person without GST registration claim ITC and collect tax? Ans. No, a person without GST registration can neither collect GST from his customers nor can claim any input tax credit of GST paid by him. Q 3. What will be the effective date of registration? Ans. 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 the date on which he became liable 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 a person 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. Q 4. Who are the persons liable to take a Registration under the GST Law? Ans. As per Section 22 of the CGST /SGST Act 2017, every supplier (including his agent) who makes a taxable supply i.e. supply of goods and / or services which are leviable to tax under GST law, and his aggregate turn over in a financial year exceeds the threshold limit of twenty lakh rupees shall be liable to register himself in the State or the Union territory of Delhi or Puducherry from where he makes the taxable supply. In case of eleven special category states (as mentioned in Art.279A(4)(g) of the Constitution of India ), this threshold limit for registration liability is ten lakh rupees. Besides, Section 24 of the Act mentions certain categories of suppliers, who shall be liable to take registration even if their aggregate turnover is below the said threshold limit of 20 lakh rupees. On the other hand, as per Section 23 of the Act, an agriculturist in respect of supply of his agricultural produce; as also any person exclusively making supply of non-taxable or wholly exempted goods and/or services under GST law will not be liable for registration. Q 5. What is aggregate turnover? Ans. As per section 2(6) of the CGST /SGST Act aggregate turnover includes the aggregate value of: (i) all taxable supplies, (ii) all exempt supplies, (iii) exports of goods and/or service, and, (iv) all inter-state supplies of a person having the same PAN. The above shall be computed on all India basis and excludes taxes charged under the CGST Act , SGST Act , UTGST Act, and the IGST Act . Aggregate turnover shall include all supplies made by the Taxable person, whether on his own account or made on behalf of all his principals. Aggregate turnover does not include value of supplies on which tax is levied on reverse charge basis, and value of inward supplies. The value of goods after completion of job work is not includible in the turnover of the job-worker. It will be treated as supply of goods by the principal and will accordingly be includible in the turnover of the Principal. Q6. Which are the cases in which registration is compulsory? Ans. The following categories of persons are required to be registered compulsorily irrespective of the threshold limit: i) persons making any inter-State taxable supply; ii) casual taxable persons making taxable supply; iii) persons who are required to pay tax under reverse charge; iv) persons who are required to pay tax under sub-section (5) of section 9 ; v) non-resident taxable persons making taxable supply; vi) persons who are required to deduct tax under section 51 ; vii) persons who make taxable supply of goods or services on behalf of other registered taxable persons whether as an agent or otherwise; viii) Input service distributor (whether or not separately registered under the Act); ix) persons who supply goods, other than supplies specified under Section 9(5), through such ecommerce operator who is required to collect tax at source under section 52 ; x) every electronic commerce operator who is required to collect tax at source under section 52 xi) every person supplying online information and data base retrieval services from a place outside India to a person in India, other than a registered person; and, In addition, the Government may notify other person or class of persons who shall be required to be registered mandatorily. The Government, however, has granted exemption from compulsory registration vide Notification no. 56/2018Central Tax dated 23/10/2018 (casual taxable person making taxable supplies of handicraft goods and the aggregate value of such supplies, does not exceed the amount of aggregate turnover above which a supplier is liable to be registered) and Notification no. 65/2017Central Tax (Rate) dated 15/11/2017 (supplier of services through an e-commerce platform having an aggregate turnover not exceeding an amount of twenty lakh rupees or ten lakh rupees in case of special category States other than the State of Jammu and Kashmir.). Q 7. Whether a person exclusively engaged in supplies which are under reverse charge mechanism need to register in GST? Ans. No. Such persons are exempted from registration vide Notification No. 05/2017-Central Tax dated 19th June, 2017 Q 8. What is the time limit for taking a Registration under GST? Ans. A person should take a Registration, within thirty days from the date on which he becomes liable to registration, in such manner and subject to such conditions as is prescribed under the Registration Rules. A Casual Taxable person and a non-resident taxable person should however apply for registration at least 5 days prior to commencement of business. Q 9. If a person is operating in different states, with the same PAN number, whether he can operate with a single Registration? Ans. No. Every person who is liable to take a Registration will have to get registered separately for each of the States where he has a business operation and is liable to pay GST in terms of Section 22(1) of the CGST/SGST Act. Q 10. Can a person obtain multiple registrations in a State? Ans. Yes. In terms of the proviso to Sub-Section (2) of Section 25 , a person having multiple place of businesses in a State or UT may obtain a separate registration for each such place of business, subject to such conditions as prescribed in the registration rules. As per the CGST(Amendment) Act, 2018 , the reference to requirement of separate business vertical for separate registration is not there now. The definition of business vertical has been omitted. However, the notification to bring the Act into effect is yet to be issued. Q 11. Whether a company having a SEZ unit or developer need to have separate registration? Ans. Yes. As per the second proviso to sub-section 1of section 25 of the CGST Act, inserted vide the CGST (Amendment) Act, 2018 , a person having SEZ unit or being SEZ developer shall have to apply for a separate registration, as distinct from his place of business located outside the SEZ in the same State or Union territory. (This would be brought into force from the date law amendment is notified) Q 12. Is there a provision for a person to get himself voluntarily registered though he may not be liable to pay GST? Ans. Yes. In terms of Section 25(3) , a person, though not liable to be registered under Section 22 or section 24 may get himself registered voluntarily, and all provisions of this Act, as are applicable to a registered taxable person, shall apply to such person. The person, once registered, will have to pay GST irrespective of his aggregate turnover. Q 13. Is possession of a Permanent Account Number (PAN) mandatory for obtaining a Registration? Ans. Yes. As per Section 25(6) of the CGST/SGST Act every person shall have a Permanent Account Number issued under the Income Tax Act,1961(43 of 1961) in order to be eligible for grant of registration. However as per the proviso to the aforesaid section 25(6) , a person required to deduct tax under Section 51, may have, in lieu of a PAN, a Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number issued under the said Income Tax Act, in order to be eligible for grant of registration. Also, as per Section 25(7) PAN is not mandatory for a nonresident taxable person who may be granted registration on the basis of self-attested copy of valid passport. Q 14. Whether the Department through the proper officer, can suo-moto proceed to register a Person under this Act? Ans. Yes. In terms of Section 25(8) , where a person who is liable to be registered under the CGST Act fails to obtain registration, the proper officer may, without prejudice to any action which may be taken under this Act, or under any other law for the time being in force, proceed to register such person in the manner prescribed in the rule 16 of the CGST Rules, 2017. Q 15. What is the procedure for suo-moto registration? Ans. Where, pursuant to any survey, enquiry, inspection, search or any other proceedings under the Act, the proper officer finds that a person liable to registration under the Act has failed to apply for such registration, such officer may register the said person on a temporary basis and issue an order in FORM GST REG-12. Q 16. What is the effective date of such suo moto registrations? Ans. It shall be effective from the date of order granting registration. Q 17. Will such suo moto registrations be final registrations? Ans. No. Every person to whom a suo-moto (temporary) registration has been granted under rule 16(1) of the CGST Rules, 2017 , shall, within ninety days from the date of the grant of such registration, submit an application for registration in the form and manner provided in rule 8 (normal taxable persons) or rule 12 (TDS/TCS deductors) unless the said person has filed an appeal against the grant of temporary registration, in that case the application for registration shall be submitted within thirty days from the date of issuance of order upholding the liability to registration by the Appellate Authority. Q 18. Whether the proper officer can reject an Application for Registration? Ans. Yes. In terms of section 25(10) of the CGST Act, the proper officer can reject an application for registration after due verification. Where the application submitted under rule 8 is found to be deficient, the proper officer may issue a notice to the applicant electronically in FORM GST REG-03 within a period of three working days from the date of submission of the application and the applicant shall furnish such clarification, information or documents electronically, in FORM GST REG-04 , within a period of seven working days from the date of the receipt of such notice. Where no reply is furnished by the applicant or where the proper officer is not satisfied with the clarification, information or documents furnished, he shall, for reasons to be recorded in writing, reject such application and inform the applicant electronically in FORM GST REG 05 . Q 19. Whether the Registration granted to any person is permanent? Ans. Yes, the registration Certificate once granted is permanent unless surrendered, cancelled, suspended or revoked. Q 20. Will the address of business premises mentioned in the application for registration be verified physically by the department? Ans. Only in cases where the proper officer feels the need for such verification but after the grant of registration. Wherever the proper officer feels so, he may get such verification done and the verification report along with other documents, including photographs, shall be uploaded in FORM GST REG-30 on the Common Portal within fifteen working days following the date of such verification. Q 21. Is it necessary for the UN bodies to get registration under GST? Ans. Yes. In terms of Section 25(9) of the CGST/SGST Act, all notified UN bodies, Consulate or Embassy of foreign countries and any other class of persons so notified would be required to obtain a unique identification number (UIN) from the GST portal. The structure of the said ID would be uniform across the States in conformity with GSTIN structure and the same will be common for the Centre and the States. This UIN will be needed for claiming refund of taxes paid on notified supplies of goods and services received by them, and for any other purpose as may be notified. Q 22. Certain entities are required to obtain Unique Identity Numbers (UIN). How will such UIN s be issued? Ans. Every person required to be granted a Unique Identity Number(UIN) under section 25(9) may submit an application, electronically in F ORM GST REG-13 , duly signed, in the manner specified in rule 8 at the Common Portal, either directly or through a Facilitation Centre, notified by the Board or Commissioner. The proper officer may, upon submission of an application in FORM GST REG-13 or after filling up the said form, assign a Unique Identity Number to the said person and issue a certificate in FORM GST REG-06 within three working days from the date of submission of application. Q 23. What is the responsibility of the taxable person supplying to UN bodies? Ans. The taxable supplier supplying to these organizations is expected to mention the UIN on the invoices and treat such supplies as supplies to another registered person (B2B) and the invoices of the same will be uploaded by the supplier. Q 24. Who is a Casual Taxable Person? Ans. Casual Taxable Person has been defined in Section 2 (20) of the CGST/SGST Act meaning a person who occasionally undertakes transactions involving supply of goods and/or services in the course or furtherance of business, whether as principal, or agent or in any other capacity, in a State or a Union territory where he has no fixed place of business. Q 25. Who is a Non-resident Taxable Person? Ans. In terms of Section 2(77) of the CGST /SGST Act, a nonresident taxable person means any person who occasionally undertakes transactions involving supply of goods and/or services whether as principal or agent or in any other capacity, but who has no fixed place of business or residence in India. Q 26. What is the validity period of the Registration certificate issued to a Casual Taxable Person and non- Resident Taxable person? Ans. In terms of Section 27(1) read with proviso thereto, the certificate of registration issued to a casual taxable person or a non-resident taxable person shall be valid for a period specified in the application for registration or ninety days from the effective date of registration, whichever is earlier. However, the proper officer, at the request of the said taxable person, may extend the validity of the aforesaid period of ninety days by a further period not exceeding ninety days. Q 27. Is there any Advance tax to be paid by a Casual Taxable Person and Non-resident Taxable Person at the time of obtaining registration under this Special Category? Ans. Yes. While a normal taxable person does not have to make any advance deposit of tax to obtain registration, a casual taxable person or a non-resident taxable person shall, at the time of submission of application for registration is required, in terms of Section 27(2) read with proviso thereto, to make an advance deposit of tax in an amount equivalent to the estimated tax liability of such person for the period for which the registration is sought. If registration is to be extended beyond the initial period of ninety days, an advance additional amount of tax equivalent to the estimated tax liability is to be deposited for the period for which the extension beyond ninety days is being sought. Q 28. A casual taxable person/non-resident taxable person has to make advance deposit of tax. Will such persons have to wait till grant of registration to deposit Advance Tax? Ans. No. A person applying for registration as a casual taxable person/non-resident taxable person shall be given a temporary reference number by the Common Portal for making advance deposit of tax in accordance with the provisions of section 27 and the acknowledgement under rule 8 (5) , for submission of registration application, shall be issued electronically only after the said deposit in the electronic cash ledger. Q 29. What is the difference between casual and nonresident taxable persons? Ans. Casual and Non-resident taxable persons are separately defined in the CGST /SGST Act in Sections 2(20) and 2(77) respectively. Some of the differences are outlined below: Casual Taxable Person Non-resident Taxable Person Occasional undertakes transactions involving supply of goods or services in a state or UT where he has no fixed place of business. Occasional undertakes transactions involving supply of goods or services but has no fixed place of business residence in India. Has a PAN Number Do not have a PAN Number; A non-resident person, if having PAN number may take registration as a casual taxable person Same application form for registration as for normal taxable persons viz GST REG-01 Separate application form for registration by non-resident taxable person viz GST REG-9 Has to undertake transactions in the course or furtherance of business Business test absent in the definition Has to file normal GSTR-1 , GSTR-2 and GSTR-3 returns Has to file a separate simplified return in the format GSTR-5 Can claim ITC of all inward supplies Can get ITC only in respect of import of goods and /or services. Q 30. Who is an ISD? Ans. ISD stands for Input Service Distributor and has been defined under Section 2(61) of the CGST /SGST Act. It is basically an office meant to receive tax invoices towards receipt of input services and further distribute the credit to supplier units (having the same PAN) proportionately. Q 31. Will ISD be required to be separately registered other than the existing tax payer registration? Ans. Yes, the ISD registration is for one office of the taxpayer which will be different from the normal registration. Q 32. Can a tax payer have multiple ISDs? Ans. Yes. Different offices of a tax payer can apply for ISD registration. Q 33. What could be the liabilities (in so far as registration is concerned) on transfer of a business? Ans. The transferee or the successor shall be liable to be registered with effect from such transfer or succession and he will have to obtain a fresh registration with effect from the date of such transfer or succession. ( Section 22(3) ). Q 34. Whether all assesses / dealers who are already registered under existing central excise/service tax/ vat laws will have to obtain fresh registration? Ans. No, GSTN shall migrate all such assessees/dealers to the GSTN network and shall issue a provisional registration certificate with GSTIN number on the appointed day, which after due verification by the departmental officers within six months, will be converted into final registration certificate. For converting the provisional registration to final registration the registrants will be asked to submit all requisite documents and information required for registration in a prescribed period of time. Failure to do so will result in cancellation of the provisional GSTIN number. The service tax assesses having centralized registration will have to apply afresh in the respective states wherever they have their businesses. Q 35. Whether the job worker will have to be compulsorily registered? Ans. No, a Job worker is a supplier of services and will be obliged to take registration only when his turnover crosses the prescribed threshold of 20/10 Lakhs. Q 36. Whether the goods will be permitted to be supplied from the place of business of a job worker? Ans. Yes. But only in cases where the job worker is registered, or if not, the principal declares the place of business of the job worker as his additional place of business. Q 37. At the time of registration will the assessee have to declare all his places of business? Ans. Yes. The principal place of business and place of business have been separately defined under section 2(89) 2(85) of the CGST /SGST Act respectively. The taxpayer will have to declare the principal place of business as well as the details of additional places of business in the registration form. Q 38. Is there any system to facilitate smaller dealers or dealers having no IT infrastructure? Ans. In order to cater to the needs of tax payers who are not IT savvy, following facilities shall be made available: - GST Practitioners: A taxable person may prepare his registration application /returns himself or can approach the GST Practitioner for assistance. GST Practitioner will prepare the said registration document / return in prescribed format on the basis of the information furnished to him by the taxable person. The legal responsibility of the correctness of information contained in the forms prepared by the GST Practitioner will rest with the registered person only and the GST Practitioner shall not be liable for any errors or incorrect information. Facilitation Centre (FC): shall be responsible for the digitization and/or uploading of the forms and documents including summary sheet duly signed by the Authorized Signatory and given to it by the taxable person. After uploading the data on common portal using the ID and Password of FC, a print-out of acknowledgement will be taken and signed by the FC and handed over to the taxable person for his records. The FC will scan and upload the summary sheet duly signed by the Authorized Signatory. Q 39. Is there any facility for digital signature in the GSTN registration? Ans. Tax payers would have the option to sign the submitted application using valid digital signatures. There will be two options for electronically signing the application or other submissions- by e-signing through Aadhar number, or through DSC i.e. by registering the tax payer s digital signature certificate with GST portal. However, companies or limited liability partnership entities will have to sign mandatorily through DSC only. Only level 2 and level 3 DSC certificates will be acceptable for signature purpose. Q 40. How will a person desirous of becoming a GST Practitioner apply? Ans. A person desirous of becoming GST Practitioner has to submit an application in the form GST PCT-1 . The application shall be scrutinized and, if found eligible, the GST practitioner certificate shall be granted in the form GST PCT-2. Q 41. Whether a GST Practitioner need to register separately under GST? Ans. If his aggregate turnover crosses the prescribed threshold limit, he will need to register as a normal taxpayer. Q 42. What will be the time limit for the decision on the on line registration application? Ans. If the information and the uploaded documents are found in order, the State and the Central authorities shall have to respond to the application within three common working days. If they communicate any deficiency or discrepancy in the application within such time, then the applicant will have to remove the discrepancy / deficiency within 7 days of such communication. Thereafter, for either approving the application or rejecting it, the State and the Central authorities will have 7 days from the date when the taxable person communicates removal of deficiencies. In case no response is given by the departmental authorities within the said time line, the portal shall automatically generate the registration. Q 43. What will be the time of response by the applicant if any query is raised in the online application? Ans. If during the process of verification, one of the tax authorities raises some query or notices some error, the same shall be communicated to the applicant and to the other tax authority through the GST Common Portal within 3 common working days. The applicant will reply to the query/rectify the error/ answer the query within a period of seven days from the date of receipt of deficiency intimation. On receipt of additional document or clarification, the relevant tax authority will respond within seven common working days from the date of receipt of clarification. Q 44. What is the process of refusal of registration? Ans. In case registration is refused, the applicant will be informed about the reasons for such refusal through a speaking order. The applicant shall have the right to appeal against the decision of the Authority. As per sub-section (2) of section 26 of the CGST Act , any rejection of application for registration by one authority (i.e. under the CGST Act / SGST Act) shall be deemed to be a rejection of application for registration by the other tax authority (i.e. under the SGST Act / UTGST Act/ CGST Act). Q 45. Will there be any communication related to the application disposal? Ans. The applicant shall be informed of the fact of grant or rejection of his registration application through an e-mail and SMS by the GST common portal. Jurisdictional details would be intimated to the applicant at this stage. Q 46. Can the registration certificate be downloaded from the GSTN portal? Ans. In case registration is granted; applicant can download the Registration Certificate from the GST common portal.