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.

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.

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, Tripur 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.

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 have no fixed place of business or residence in India. Thus, any foreign person or foreign business or organisation 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 facility or platform for electronic commerce. Thus, any person selling through the internet can be termed as an eCommerce Operator requiring GST registration irrespective of business turnover.

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.

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.

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.

Documents Required for GST Registration