PROPOSED REGISTRATION PROCESS 29^th October, 2015 Chennai

REGISTRATION OF TAXABLE PERSONS UNDER GST

• To give a unique identification to every taxable person.
• Link all GST related transactions of every person
• Enable proper accounting of taxes paid on input goods and services
• Enable passing of tax credit on supply of goods and services
• Ease in compliance verification.

WHO ARE LIABLE TO BE REGISTERED?

• Persons registered to pay existing taxes that will be subsumed under GST.
• Persons with All-India Gross Turnover more than a threshold
• Persons making interstate supplies
• Casual and non-resident suppliers
• Voluntary Registration below threshold
•  Unique-id for specific class of persons. 

SALIENT FEATURES OF REGISTRATION PROCESS

• PAN based Registration: PAN will be mandatory Unified application to both tax authorities to be filed within 30 days.
• State-wise registration for entities having presence in more than one State
  • Need not apply separately for each State
• Deemed approval within three days
• Within a PAN, separate registration for separate business verticals within a State possible.

STRUCTURE OF GSTIN

STATE		PAN										ENTITY	BLANK	CHECK
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15

• 15 digit Alphanumeric structure
•  State-wise
• Based on PAN
• 13^th Digit for Business Verticals of entities with same
• PAN in same State
• 14^th digit left blank for future use
• 15^th digit – Checksum.

SUPPLIERS UNDER COMPOSITION SCHEME

• Suppliers with turnover below a particular threshold eligible for composition scheme.
• To pay tax on turnover with no input tax credit
• To opt at the beginning of the year - applicable till eligibility or opting out
• Switch from composition to regular scheme voluntarily or on crossing threshold
• Suppliers making interstate supplies not eligible. 

OBTAINING REGISTRATION

• Migration of existing tax payers to the GSTN database
  • Taxpayers with valid PAN
• Online application form through Common Portal
• Documents to be filed for
  • Constitution of Business
  •  Principal Place of Business Bank Accounts
  • Authorised Signatory
  • Photograph. 

OBTAINING REGISTRATION

• Applications not submitted through Digital Signature to be supported by sending a signed copy of summary extract of the form.
  • Processing of application and grant of registration even before signed copy received.
  • Cancellation to be initiated if no signed copy received.
• Email and SMS based alerts to the applicants.
• No application fee (advance tax in case of casual suppliers).
• Applications can be filed through Facilitation Centres (FCs) or through Tax Return Preparers (TRPs).

APPROVAL PROCESS

• Online verification of certain details like PAN, CIN, Bank Account (if possible) and Adhaar.
• Online communication of application to jurisdictional authority by the backend modules of tax authorities.
• 3 common working days for tax authorities to respond.
• Deemed approval after 3 days
• Single opportunity to tax authorities to raise query, if any - 7 days for response and 7 days for action.
• Mostly post registration visits based on risk profile.
• Online grant of registration
• Log-in id and temporary password communicated to the tax payer
• Downloadable Registration Certificate to be provided by GSTN
• Refusal to register by one tax authority deemed as refusal by both
• Communication of reason for refusal of registration.

MIGRATION OF EXISTING TAX PAYERS

• Existing registrants either with States or with Centre to be migrated to GSTIN - Process already initiated.
  • VAT registration data to be used for migration of dealers in goods.
  • Service Tax registration data to be used for migration of service providers 
• Validation of existing registration information by GSTN Verification /updation of migrated data by existing registrants within a specified period.
• Issuance of GSTIN by GSTN
• Verification by Centre/State Authorities after issuance of GSTIN. 

AMENDMENT TO REGISTRATION DETAILS

• On-time amendment essential for efficient tax administration.
• Most of the details to be amended by the tax payer on self service basis.
• Some of them like mobile number and email address through online verification.
• Some critical details like name, principal place of business to be amended after approval from tax authorities.

SURRENDER AND CANCELLATION

• Registration can be surrendered or can be cancelled on
  • Closure of business of tax payer
  • Gross Annual Turnover falling below threshold for registration
  • Transfer of business
  • Amalgamation of taxable person with other legal entities or de-merger
  • Non commencement of business by tax payer within the stipulated time period prescribed under GST law. 

SURRENDER AND CANCELLATION

• Cancellation by Tax authorities:
  • Signed copy of the summary extract of submitted application form not received even after a reminder.
  • Tax payer contravenes specified provision of the GST law
  • Taxpayer has not filed any return at all during a prescribed period as prescribed under GST Law.
• Cancellation of registration to be prospective
• A person, whose registration was cancelled by tax authority on his own motion, may apply for revocation of registration.
• Substantial penalty in case registration obtained with fraudulent intentions.

GST registration framework ensures PAN-based unique identification, online verification, and deemed approval with migration mechanisms. Registration under GST is a PAN-based unified process creating a 15 character GSTIN for unique identification; it mandates registration for specified classes (existing taxpayers, persons above turnover threshold, interstate suppliers, casual and non-resident suppliers) and allows state-wise and vertical-specific registrations. Applications are submitted online with prescribed documents, may be processed before receipt of signed summaries, and are subject to online verification and deemed approval after a three working day authority response; migration, composition scheme eligibility, amendment procedures, and rules for surrender or cancellation are integral to the registration lifecycle.