Any business entity that registers under the GST Law must obtain a unique identification number based on its PAN from the CGST/SGST Department in order to collect taxes from its customers and remit the same to the Government and claim input tax credits for the taxes paid on its inward supplies.
Persons liable for GST Registration:
- Every supplier of goods or services or both is required to obtain GST Registration in the state or the union territory from where he operates if his aggregate turnover exceeds ₹.20 lakhs in a financial year.
- The threshold limit in the case of special category states is ₹ 10 lakhs
- Special category states are Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Manipur
- Any person who is engaged in the supply of goods and his turnover is less than ₹ 40 lacs is required to obtain GST Registration in the following cases
- Person required to take compulsory registration
- Person engaged in making supplies of ice cream and other edible ice, Pan masala and Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes.
- Persons engaged in making intra-state supplies in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, and Uttarakhand.
- Persons who has opted for voluntary registration.
Also Read: Beginners Guide to GST Registration
GST Registration is mandatory if the person is falling under any of the following
- A person making any interstate taxable supply
- Casual taxable persons making taxable supply
- Persons who are required to pay tax under reverse charge
- Non-resident taxable persons making taxable supply
- E-commerce supplier/operator
- Persons who are required to deduct TDS
- Person supplying OIDAR services
- Input Service Distributor
Time limit for Obtaining GST Registration:
- A person who is required to obtain mandatory registration must apply for registration within 30 days from the date on which he is liable for registration in any state or union territory he is operating
- In the case of a Casual Taxable Person or Non-Resident Taxable Person, the GST Registration should be obtained at least 5 days before to the commencement of business in every state/union territory in which he is so liable.
Different registrations for multiple states
- If the business is operating in different states/union territories, the business should obtain separate registration in each state/ union territory separately
- If it is operating in different locations in the state itself, the business should add each and every place other than the principal place of business as the additional place of business in the GST portal.
Penalty for non-compliance of GST registration
- In case if a person is eligible to obtain GST Registration but does not obtain GST Registration, he is liable for payment of a penalty of 100% of the outstanding tax amount or ₹ 10,000, whichever is higher
- In case if the person does not obtain GST Registration intentionally, the penalty in such cases will be 100% of the tax amount.
Related reading: Role of GST Registration in Income Tax Compliances
It is always advisable to obtain GST registration as and when the person crosses his turnover, else he is liable for hefty penalties, and the statement of Cost of Non-compliance is costlier than cost of compliance.
