A GST registration certificate is a valid document for proof of being registered under the GST law in India. Any business in India whose turnover exceeds the threshold limit for GST registration is required to get registered under GST. There are also certain businesses that need to mandatorily register themselves under GST such as casual taxable persons, non-resident taxable persons, etc.
Meaning of GST Registration Certificate and Uses
Every taxpayer who has successfully registered under GST is issued a GST registration certificate in Form GST REG-06. It contains the GST Identification Number (GSTIN), the principal and additional places of business. The registration certificate is available for downloading only on the GST Portal, and the government does not issue any physical certificate.
The type of taxpayers includes regular, TDS and TCS applicants under GST, those who are liable to obtain unique Identity Number under Section 25(9) of the CGST Act, non-residents including those that are providing OIDAR services, and the taxpayers who migrated from the pre-GST laws. The certificate is signed or verified using EVC by the verifying tax officer before sending it to the taxpayer.
The taxpayer is required to display this certificate at his primary place of business, as well as other additional places of business listed in the Form GST REG-06. It is laid down in CGST Rule 18(1) and any failure can attract a penalty of up to Rs.25,000.
Whenever there is any amendment to the GST registration particulars, the GST portal allows the taxpayer or user to download the fresh GST registration certificate with the amended particulars.
Validity Period of the GST Registration Certificate
The GST registration certificate is valid from the date when the person became liable to GST registration if they submitted the registration application within thirty days from such liable date. If not, then validity begins from the date of granting the certificate under the CGST Rules 9(1), 9(3) and 9(5).
If an application falls under cases of delay by the officer under the CGST Rule 9(5), then the officer must send the signed registration certificate within three working days from the period given under the same subrule.
The certificate does not have any time limit for expiry if issued to all the regular taxpayers. As long as the GST registration is valid and not surrendered or cancelled, it remains valid. For a casual taxable person, since the GST registration remains valid for a maximum of ninety days, the registration certificate turns invalid after that. However, the taxpayer can extend its validity or renew by the end of the validity period.
Contents of a GST Registration Certificate
The GST registration certificate contains the main certificate along with two annexures- Annexure- A and Annexure-B. Following are the contents of the main GST registration certificate:
- The GSTIN of the taxpayer
- Trade Name and Legal Name
- Type of Business Constitution (Eg: Partnership, Company, Proprietorship, Trust, etc)
- Address of the Principal Place of Business
- Date of Liability
- Period of Validity. Usually, there is a date mentioned for ‘From date’. However, regular taxpayers will not have a date mentioned for ‘To date’. That would be found in cases of casual taxable persons or non-resident taxable persons.
- Type of registration
- Particulars of the Approving authority- Name, designation, jurisdictional office, and signature (usually digitally signed).
- Date of issuing the certificate
The details found in Annexure-A are as follows-
- The GSTIN
- The Legal Name
- The Trade Name (if found)
- Additional Places of Business
The details found in Annexure-B are as follows-
- The GSTIN
- The Legal Name
- The Trade Name (if applicable)
- Information of proprietor, partners, Karta, managing and whole-time director, the board of trustees, etc. such as photo, name, designation or status and a resident of which State.
How to Get GST Registration Certificate?
Any eligible person can apply for GST registration on the GST portal, by visiting www.gst.gov.in on the web browser. After the due verification of application by the proper officer, the registration shall be approved. The registration will be effective from the date when liability for registration arises, in case the application was submitted within thirty days from that date. However, if the submission was delayed, then the GST registration is valid from the date of grant of registration.
There may be a scenario where bank account details are being submitted later on. In no case, they must submit within earlier of two dates, i.e., forty five days from the date of grant of registration or the due date of filing the return in form GSTR-3B.
For a detailed step-by-step process of obtaining the GST registration or GSTIN, read our article on ‘How to register for GST?’ or may watch our video here.
How to Download GST Registration Certificate from GST Portal
If you are an existing registered taxpayer, you may also download the certificate in Form GST REG-06 from the GST portal. It is available for download, only on the GST portal, and note that the government does not issue any physical certificate.
Here is a step-by-step process to download GST Registration Certificate in Form GST REG-06:
Step 1 – Login to GST Portal.
Step 2 – Go to ‘Services’ > ‘User Services’ > ‘View/ Download Certificate.
Step 3 – Click on the ‘Download’ icon.
Step 4 – Open the downloaded PDF document and take a printout.
Step 5 – Display the printed certificate prominently at all your places of business in the State or UT.
Team Clear helps you in obtaining the GST registration certificate without any hassles in the shortest possible time. Explore our GST registration service by clicking on the link here.
Sample GST Registration Certificate
‘Annexure A’ contains the list of any additional places of business, if declared at the time of GST registration.
‘Annexure B’ contains the list of persons-in-charge for the taxpayer along with their name, designation, State of residence and photograph. The list may have proprietor or partners or Karta or Managing Director and whole-time Directors or Members of the Managing Committee of Association of Persons or the Board of Trustees, etc.
For further reading, check out our articles-
