GST (Goods & Services Tax) is a multi-stage tax, charged at every point of sale. It has replaced many indirect taxes such as the service tax, Value Added Tax (VAT), central sales tax, excise duty, additional customs duty, and so on. To introduce GST as a comprehensive tax, the Government passed the Goods & Services Act which came into effect from 1st July 2017. The process of registration of a business entity in the GST regime is known as GST registration. Your business will be given a GSTIN Number(GST Identification Number) post the registration. This number will appear on all the invoices submitted or received by you.  Initially, the GST Act stated that businesses exceeding an annual turnover of Rs 20 lakhs needed to register themselves as a taxable entity.

But, from 1st April 2019 onwards, this limit was raised to Rs 40 lakhs for the sale of goods. However, there was no change in the threshold limits for service providers. For certain businesses, it is a criminal offence to operate without GSTIN.  Therefore, you must apply for GST registration if you have not done so far. Here, we will tell you how to apply for a GSTIN number.

GSTIN number 

However, it’s not mandatory to register a company to get a GSTIN number. You can get your GSTIN as a sole proprietor or as a partnership business as well. Whatever be the type of the business, you need to provide the details of it, before proceeding with how to apply for the GSTIN number.

Before informing you how to get GSTIN,  let me tell you who should mandatorily get a GSTIN number-

• Persons/businesses making an inter-state supply of goods & services
• Businesses registered under tax services of the previous regime (VAT, Excise, Service Tax, etc.) before GST came into effect
• Agents of a supplier & Input service distributor
• A business that supplies online information, database access and/or retrieval services from outside the country to a person/business in India (other than a registered taxable entity)
• All e-commerce aggregators
• The business that supplies through an e-commerce aggregator
• Any other person/business as notified by the Central/State Govt., as and when recommended by the GST Council

How can I get a GSTIN number?

Now, let’s turn our attention to how to get a GSTIN number online in a particular state. Here is the step-by-step procedure for the same-

1. Visit the online GST registration portal 
2. Click “Services”>“Registration” > “New Registration”
3. On the next page, submit the following details-

Details such as

1. Select your type as “Taxpayer” from the ‘I am a’ drop-down menu
2. Further, select the name of your state in the ‘State/UT’ drop-down menu
3. Select the appropriate district in the ‘District’ drop-down menu
4. Enter the name of your business, mentioned in your PAN
5. Similarly, enter your PAN number
6. Enter your E-mail ID and valid mobile number in the space provided. OTPs will be sent to them. Remember that the OTPs will be valid only for 10 minutes.

Next procedure is

1. Click “Proceed”
2. On the resultant page, enter the OTPs received in appropriate boxes and click “Proceed”
3. A system-generated Temporary Reference Number (TRN) will appear on your screen. Note this number for future reference.
4. Now, visit the GST site homepage (https:// www.gst.gov.in) again and log in using the TRN and Captcha code.
5. The ‘My Saved Application’ page will be displayed on your screen. Click the ‘Edit’ icon
6. The resultant page will show your Registration Application Form with different tabs
7.  You will see 10 sections on top of the page. Enter all the required details in each of these sections.
8. Additionally, fill the details of ‘principal place of business’ and ‘commodity details’. Click ‘Save & continue’
9. Select appropriate HSN code
10. Additionally, ill in your Bank account details
11. Further, upload scanned copies of the relevant documents such as PAN card, proof business address, proof of business continuation, identity and address proof of each of the directors, authorization details & bank details)
12. Next, visit the “verification” page and check the declaration box.
13. Submit your application by any of the following methods-
14. Further, by e-Sign methods- With an OTP received on the mobile number linked to your Aadhaar card
15. By EVC- with an Electronic Verification Code received on your registered mobile number
16. If you are registering as a company, you must apply with a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC).

Confirmation message

1. After the application submission, a message confirming successful submission will appear on the screen.
2. Moreover, an Application Reference Number (ARN) will be sent to your email ID and the registered mobile number. With this ARN, you can check the status of your application on the GST portal.
3. You will receive your GSTIN number within 7 working days

Also read: How to change GST registration details of a business?

Image source: shutterstock.com

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