Goods and Services Tax has been a revolutionary step towards making India more efficient in taking forward the aim of the government of creating ease of doing business. According to the World Bank’s Ease of Doing business index, India ranked at 77th position among 190 nations in 2018. India’s rank was at 100th place in 2017, and it leapfrogged 30 places, and GST was one of the significant factors in this development. There were various steps taken by the government to make GST as efficient as possible.
The technology in GST, which is the GST network, is the best in the industry. The contract was awarded to IBM, and they developed a GST network that works in the background handling complex tasks, and at the frontend, there is the GST portal. Through the portal, a taxpayer can address many issues like paying taxes online, checking GST registration status, filing returns, learning how to download a GST certificate, etc.
GST subsumed many indirect taxes and brought them under one umbrella. There have been many confusions about the new rules that applied after the introduction of this Act. Under the mandatory regulations that every taxpayer should follow, there is a necessary rule as per section 122 of the CGST Act that any taxable individual who is liable to register, should register under GST. Failing to register could lead to a penalty of Rs. 10,000 or the amount equivalent to the tax evaded or any tax liability, whichever is higher.
The registration process on the GST portal is very simple. Once you are registered, you can download a GST Registration Certificate that will be the legal document for you to become GST compliant. To register through the GST portal, you will need to have an active mobile number and Email ID and scanned copies of some necessary documents related to you and your business.
To register on the GST portal, follow the following steps.
- Open the GST portal in any browser. ( GST portal can be accessed from all major portals like Chrome, Edge, Safari, etc.)
- Click on the Services tab; there will be an option for Registration.
- Click the New Registration option from the drop-down menu under Registration.
- A new page will open with space provided to enter all the necessary details.
- Enter all the details accurately and click proceed.
- You will receive an OTP on the given Mobile Number and Email Address.
- Enter the OTP for Mobile and Email in the respective places provided.
- A verification message will be displayed with a Temporary Reference Number (TRN). Note down this number as you will need it on the next page. (This number will be valid for 15 days)
- Enter the TRN in the space provided on the next page and enter the OTP in the space provided received on the mobile and Email address.
- A new page will open with a column where you will get an option to Edit ( It will be a small box with a clipart design of a pen.)
- Click on the Edit column, and a page will open with different tabs.
- Select each tab and enter the details required.
- Once you enter all the details and upload the scanned copies of the required documents, your Registration will then be verified by authorities.
- Until the verification happens, you will get an Application Reference Number (ARN) in your Email and mobile number.
- Once your application is successfully verified, you will be registered under GST.
Sometimes there might be a delay in getting approval from authorities, or there could be a delay because of technical issues. In case there is a delay, you can track the status of your GST Registration from the GST portal. To check status, go to the GST portal. Click on the Services link> Registration > Track Application Status. Choose the ARN option and enter the ARN received through Email and enter the captcha. Click Search to view the application Status. There will be one of the five messages that will be displayed.
- Pending for Verification: This message is displayed when the application is still under the process of approval.
- Provisional: This message is displayed when the process of Registration is not complete, and only a provisional GST ID is issued.
- Validation Error: When the details, mainly the PAN details, do not match the records or IT Departments.
- Migrated: This message is displayed when GST migration is successfully done.
- Canceled: This message will display upon cancellation GST Registration.
Once you register under GST, you will become GST compliant. It will help you conduct business in a trusted and transparent manner. Getting registered under GST not only helps with firms and consumers trust your brand, but it also enables you to get benefits offered through GST, such as the Input Tax Credit. Getting registered and downloading a GST certificate at the earliest will help you in ease of doing business and open new avenues.
Steps to download GST Registration Certificate:
- Login to the GST portal.
- Hover over to Services. From the drop-down menu, select User Services.
- Click on the View/Download Certificates option.
- You will see a REF-06 Form for the GST Certificate.
- Click on the download option, and your GST certificate will be downloaded to your device.
Conclusion
The GST portal is an intuitive interface that’s easy to follow, be it uploading documents while Registration, checking the GST registration status, or knowing the rules for GST compliance. It is a one-stop-shop for all GST related needs. However, the portal doesn’t provide a complete guide on different aspects of filing returns or paying taxes. This
