Three days from now, India will see its biggest tax reform come into being in the form of the Goods and Services Tax GST. Aimed at subsuming a plethora of other taxes into a single indirect tax for the whole nation, the GST will make India a unified common market. It is a single tax on the supply of goods and services, right from the manufacturer to the consumer. With the scale of change envisaged under the GST, worries and apprehensions over it have come in equal measure. While it may be too early to judge the impact of the change that it will eventually bring, a know-how of the processes involved in it can help ease some of the apprehensions. As part of our ongoing series on the GST, we now bring to you a simplified account of how businesses can register for GST in India, the documents required for the process and the dates they need to remember to ensure a smooth transition.
On its part, the government has kept the process of online registration for GST quite simple. The registration for taxpayers and GST practitioners is now open on the GST portal gst.gov.in and one really does not need to do much provided you have the necessary documents ready for the process. It is also important to know whether you are eligible for GST registration and fulfil the requisite criteria. As per the rules, GST applies to everyone from a casual taxable person to a Non-Resident taxable person and businessmen are taxable under GST if their turnover in a financial year exceeds Rs 20 lakh (Rs 10 lakh for Special category states). Those not liable to register for GST include persons engaged exclusively in the business of supplying goods or services or both that are not liable to tax or wholly exempt from tax under the GST Act or under the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act; an agriculturist, to the extent of supply of produce out of cultivation of land. All that the eligible tax payers need to do is to register for GST and abide by the dates provided by the government to complete the process of filing GSTR.
Process for GST registration online at www.gst.gov.in
Step 1: Log on to www.gst.gov.in and click on the tab for registration as taxpayer or GST practitioner depending upon which category you fall in. Clicking on the tab will guide you to by www.reg.gst.gov.in/registration/ which has Form A seeking basic details.
Step 2: Fill in details like whether you are a taxpayer, tax deductor, tax collector or GST practitioner. Fill in the state of the person or organisation registering. Enter legal name of your business, PAN, email address and mobile number.
Step 3: Once you done with filling up the form, you will receive a one-time password on your registered mobile number. Enter the OTP received and you will be guided to the link for the second form, which is Form B.
Step 4: Fill in the required details in Form B and submit the necessary documents along with it. In Form B, you need to fill in details such as the name of your trade, the constitution of business, jurisdiction, date of commencement of business, turnover, tax liability etc.
Step 5: Once you have filled both forms along with the necessary documents (find list of documents below), a GST officer will verify the application and approve the request or ask for more documents. You’re your application is approved, you will receive the GST registration certificate.
Documents required for GST registration online
It is very important to know beforehand the documents you will need to upload in the process of GST registration online. You will be required to submit these documents at the time of registering and you will only receive your GST registration upon scrutiny of your documents by a GST officer. In case of any shortcomings in the documents submitted, the appropriate office will get in touch with you on the same. You will also receive instructions on it if you have submitted Form B.
Here are the documents you need for smooth online GST registration:
* PAN of the business
* ROC of the company
* Memorandum of Association (MOA) /Articles of Association (AOA)
* Copy of Bank Statement
* Declaration stating you comply with the provisions
* Copy of Board resolution
* Copy of electricity bill/landline bill
* Water Bill
* No objection certificate of the owner and Rent agreement (in case premises are rented).
* In the case of a partnership firm, deed of partnership
Important Dates
The process of GST registration on the government portal began on June 25. Though the first day was marked with technical glitches, things should improve over the coming days. Nevertheless, if you have been having trouble dealing with the process and have missed out on the important dates you need to remember, we have got you covered.
* Forms regarding outward sales by business - 10th of next month. So, if your monthly filing is for the month of July, you need to fill in the first GSTR 1 form by August 10.
* Forms regarding purchase returns for business - 15th of the next month
* GST Monthly return along with the payment of tax - 20th of next month.
* Periodic GST return for Non-Resident Foreign Taxpayer - 20th of next month
* Return for Input Service Distributor (ISD) - 15th of next month.
* GST Return for TDS and E-commerce Operators - 10th of next month
* Annual returns for TDS and E-commerce Operators - December 31 of next financial year.
* GST Quarterly return for Composition Taxpayers - 18th of the month next quarter. For the quarter ending on September 30, the due date will be October 18.
