GST Registration Services

What is GSTIN Registration?

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a tax on goods and services consumed in India. GST is an indirect tax that has replaced many other indirect taxes in India, such as excise duty, VAT, and services tax. GST has been in force from 1st July 2017 based on the Goods and Service Tax Act passed by the Indian Parliament on March 29, 2017.

What is GSTIN?
GSTIN or Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN) is provided to entities having GST registration number. GSTIN is 15 characters in length. The allocation of GSTIN is based on PAN and State of the applicant. In a GST registration number, the first two digits represent the State Code. The following next 10 digits represent the PAN of the applicant.

Download GST Registration Certificate
GST Certificate is issued to people who are registered under GST. Those are having GST registration certificate are mandatorily required to display the registration certificate prominently at their place of business. Downloading GST certificate is a pretty easy process through the GST Portal. Login to the GST Account and and go to User Services. In User Services, click on View / Download Certificate to download GST registration certificate.

Voluntary GST Registration
Any person or entity that wishes to supply goods or services can obtain GST registration voluntarily, irrespective of business turnover. Voluntarily obtaining GST registration can help the business avail Input Tax Credit and also provide GST bill to customers.

Penalty for NOT Obtaining GST Registration.
Any person or entity that crosses the aggregate turnover limit must obtain GST registration within 30 days of becoming liable to obtain GST registration. Delay or non-compliance can lead to a penalty of Rs. 10,000 and loss of input tax credit during the period of delay.

Types of GST Registration?

Types of GST Registration
There are various types of GST registration like regular, casual taxable persons, non-resident taxable persons and eCommerce operators. Casual taxable persons, non-resident taxable persons and eCommerce operators are required to obtain GST registration irrespective of turnover limit.

Casual Taxable Persons: The GST Act defines as a casual taxable person as a person who occasionally supplies goods or services in a State or a Union territory where the entity has no fixed place of business. Hence, persons running temporary businesses in fairs or exhibitions, or seasonal businesses would fall under casual taxable person under GST.

Non-resident Taxable Persons: Non-resident taxable person (NRI) under GST is any person or business or not-for-profit supplying goods or services but has no fixed place of business or residence in India. Thus, any foreign person or foreign business or organization supplying goods or services to India would be a non-resident taxable person – requiring compliance with all GST regulations in India.

E-Commerce Operators: Electronic commerce operator is every person who owns, operates, or manages digital or electronic facilities or platforms for electronic commerce. Thus, any person selling through the internet can be termed as an eCommerce Operator requiring GST registration irrespective of business turnover.

Taxable Person Under GST?

A 'taxable person' under the GST Act is someone who conducts business in India and is registered or needs to be registered under the GST Act. A taxable person can be an individual, HUF, company, firm, LLP, an AOP/ BOI, any corporation or Government company, body corporate incorporated under the laws of a foreign country, co-operative societies, local authorities, governments, trusts, or artificial juridical persons.

Eligibility Criteria For GST Registration

Who should file the GST returns?

GST Return filing in India is to be done by the following:

• A person having a valid GSTIN has to compulsorily file the GST returns.
• Also, a person whose annual turnover is crossing Rs. 20 lakhs have to obtain a GST registration and file the GST returns mandatorily.
• In the cases of Special states, the limit for the annual turnover is Rs.10 lakh.

Documents Required for GST Registration?

Benefits of GST Registration?

The following are some of the advantages of GST registration:

Bank Loans: GST registration and GST return filing serve as proof of business activity and create track record for a business. Banks and NBFCs lend to businesses based on GST return data. Hence, GST registration can help you formalize your business and get credit.

Supplier Onboarding: To become a supplier of reputed companies, GST registration is often times a must during the supplier onboarding process. Hence, GST registration can help you get more business.

eCommerce: GST registration is a must to sell online and through various platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Zomato, Swiggy, etc., Hence, having a GST registration will allow you to sell online.

Input Tax Credit: Entities having GST registration are eligible to collect GST from customer for the supply and offset the liability against GST taxes paid while purchasing various goods and services. Hence, GST registration can help you save on taxes and improve margins.

GST Registration Turnover Limit

GST registration can be obtained voluntarily by any person or entity irrespective of turnover. GST registration becomes mandatory if a person or entity sells goods or services beyond a certain turnover.

Service Providers: Any person or entity who provides service of more than Rs.20 lakhs in aggregate turnover in a year is required to obtain GST registration. In special category states, the GST turnover limit for service providers has been fixed at Rs.10 lakhs.

Goods Suppliers: As per notification No.10/2019 any person who is engaged in the exclusive supply of goods whose aggregate turnover crosses Rs.40 lakhs in a year is required to obtain GST registration. To be eligible for the Rs.40 lakhs turnover limit, the supplier must satisfy the following conditions:

• Should not be providing any services.
• The supplier should not be engaged in making intra-state (supplying goods within the same state) supplies in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, and Uttarakhand.
• Should not be involved in the supply of ice cream, pan masala, or tobacco.

If the above conditions are not met, the supplier of goods would be required to obtain GST registration when the turnover crosses Rs.20 lakhs and Rs.10 lakhs in special category states.

Special Category States: Under GST, the following are listed as special category states - Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. 

Aggregate Turnover: Aggregate turnover = (Taxable supplies + Exempt Supplies + Exports + Inter-State Supplies) – (Taxes + Value of Inward Supplies + Value of Supplies Taxable under Reverse Charge + Value of Non-Taxable Supplies). 

Aggregate turnover is calculated based on the PAN. Hence, even if one person has multiple places of business, it must be summed to arrive at the aggregate turnover.

What is GST Return Filing?

Businesses that are registered under GST have to file the GST returns monthly, quarterly, and annually based on the business. Here it is necessary to provide the details of the sales or purchases of the goods and services along with the tax that is collected and paid. Implementation of a comprehensive Income Tax System like GST in India has ensured that taxpayer services such as registration, returns, and compliance are in range and perfectly aligned.

An individual taxpayer filing the GST returns has to file 4 forms for filing the GST returns such as the returns for the supplies, returns for the purchases made, monthly returns, and the annual returns.

GST return filing in India is mandatory for all the entities that have a valid GST registration irrespective of the business activity or the sales or the profitability during the period of filing the returns. Hence, even a dormant business that has a valid GST registration must file the GST returns.

GST return is a document that contains the details of all the income or expenses that a taxpayer is required to file with the tax administrative authorities.