Blog Article

GST or Goods and Service Tax is a bill recently introduced in parliament that will take effect in April 2017. This was passed in the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016.

The Goods and Service Tax (proposed to replace Value Added Tax or VAT) is a uniform indirect tax levied by the State and Central Government on consumption, manufacture and sale of services and goods in India.

Any individual registered to pay excise, service tax, value added tax, etc. (State or Central levied tax) should register for GST as soon as possible. As we move from our current taxation system to the proposed unified GST system, it is important to understand the requisites for registration, how to register for GST and the last date for enrollment.

Who Has To Enrol?

Any taxpayer that pays any of the following taxes to the respective authorities will be required to enroll for GST:

• Value Added Tax/ Sales Tax (except on liquor dealers)
• Service Tax
• Luxury Tax
• Central Excise Tax
• Entertainment Tax
• Entry Tax

By When To Enrol?

The following list gives a State wise breakup for the permitted date/s of enrollment:

Prerequisites Before Registration

Some of the prerequisites to be completed before online GST registration are:

• Provisional ID and Password

The tax officer provides a unique provisional ID and password generated directly by the Income Tax Department to the individual. This provisional ID and password are used to log into the GST portal. For more information, contact your Ward Officer for pre-registration.

• Documentation

The documents required to enroll for GST are:

1. A personal email address
2. A bank account number along with the IFSC code
3. Details of the bank account such as a picture of the bank statement or passbook that contains the name and account number of the account holder, the bank and branch details, etc. (the maximum size of the image shall not exceed 1MB)
4. Based on the business entity, an electronic proof of business document (such as LLP agreement, registration certificate, partnership deed, etc.) is required to be uploaded in PDF or JPEG format
5. Individual Photographs of the partners in a JPEG file. (The maximum size of the file should be not more than 100kb)

How To Register?

Enrollment Under the GST Portal System

1. Username and Password
   An individual must create the Login ID and password on the GST website by using the provisional ID and password. A user must agree to the terms and conditions before proceeding.
2. Login
   At the login page, a user must provide the provisional ID that will be sent by SMS, mail, etc. from the Income Tax Department. Additionally, a captcha image would be used for additional verification.
3. Verification of Credentials
   Post login, an ID verification page must be filled. Here an individual will be required to fill out a valid phone number and email address. An OTP will be generated on (both) the entered/registered email ID and phone number. This verification will be permanent and any changes that need to be made to phone number or email ID can happen only after April 2017.
4. Answer 5 Security Questions
   Post OTP verification, a new password can be set. An individual will be required to mandatorily fill out a list of 5 security questions for additional security and password retrieval purposes.
5. Enrollment Application
   The enrollment application termed as the ‘Provisional ID Enrollment’ will be on the dashboard of the welcome page. This application contains 8 slabs that indicate bank account details, verification, goods and services, principal and additional place of business, promoters/partners, business details and authorized signatory. All the details mentioned in the prerequisites such as photographs, account number, etc. need to be filled out in this section as and when applicable.
6. Signature
   Once all the details are submitted, an individual will be required to verify those details one last time and affix his digital signature on the application in the form of a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) or Aadhaar based eSign. Following signing and sending the application, the applicant will receive an acknowledgment (of application) and Application Receipt Number (ARN) for further application queries within 15 minutes of Submission.

LegalDesk.com provides legal documentation and Aadhaar based eSign services for GST registration.