The registration in GST is PAN based and State specific. Supplier has to register in each such State or Union territory from where he effects supply if he fulfills any of the following conditions:

1. Having an annual aggregate turnover from all-India operations which is above the threshold limit of Rs. 20 Lakhs (Rs. 10 Lakhs for North-Eastern States)
2. Currently registered under any of the earlier indirect tax regimes (VAT, Excise Laws, Service Tax Laws) irrespective of the threshold limit
3. Having branches in multiple states or multiple business verticals in one state
4. Making any supply to other states
5. Required to pay tax under Reverse Charge (In case your supplier is not registered under GST)
6. Required to deduct tax at source or an Input Service Distributor
7. Agents of a supplier
8. Supplying goods or services through E-commerce Operator
9. E-commerce Operator / Aggregator who supplies goods or services under his brand name (e.g. Flipkart, Amazon, Ola)
10. Supplying online information and database access or retrieval services from a place outside India to a person in India, other than a registered taxable person

You may also do the registration via the GST portal yourself for which you need to take the following steps:

- Go to the Government GST Portal (www.gst.gov.in) and look for Registration Tab

- Fill PAN, Mobile No., E-mail ID and State in Part-A of Form GST REG-01 of GST Registration

- You will receive a temporary reference number on your Mobile and via E-mail after OTP verification

- You will then need to fill Part-B of Form GST REG-01 duly signed (by DSC or EVC) and upload the required documents specified according to the business type

- An acknowledgment will be generated in Form GST REG-02

- In case of any information sought from you and intimated to you in Form GST REG-03, you may need to visit the department and clarify or produce the documents within 7 working days in Form GST REG-04

- The office may also reject your application if they find any errors. You will be informed about this in Form GST REG-05

- Finally, a certificate of registration in Finally, a certificate of registration will be issued to you by the department after verification and approval in Form GST REG-06

GST registration is a complete online procedure which is done by applying on GSTN website directly. All supporting documents are uploaded on the GSTn directly and once, they are fine, registration is granted. Let us understand it in three steps:

# Arrange documents: The first step is to arrange all documents which are required for GST registration. Further, since GST is a completely new tax, one should get the documents checked by a professional to avoid the rejection from the department.

# File application: After arranging all the documents, one should file the documents along with online application on the GSTN website. Make sure all the documents uploaded are off appropriate size otherwise you will face uploading problem.

# GST registration: If the government officer finds all the documents in place, then they shall issue the GST registration certificate in India. It generally takes 3 to 5 days for GST registration.

There are basically two types of exemption and remedies available to the taxpayer, one is basic exemption and another is the composition scheme. Let us understand both:

1. BASIC EXEMPTION UNDER GST

As per the GST law, if any person supplies goods or services for the value of more than Rs.20 lakh, then GST registration shall be mandatory and he shall have to apply for GST registration within 30 days.

Further, the basic exemption of Rs.20 lakh is not applicable for north eastern states including Jammu & Kashmir (J&k), Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizroram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Himanchal Pradesh and Uttrakhand. For these states, the basic exemption limit is Rs.10 lakh.

2. COMPOSITION SCHEME (LEVY) UNDER GST

To avail the composition scheme, one must apply to the department only if the total turnover is less than 50 lakh.Further, that person should not sell outside the state. The composition rate may be 2.5% in case of manufacturer and 1% in case of others.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a very new taxation system introduced by the government, hence, it is very important to understand the mandatory requirement for GST registration so that one can easily get the GST registration without any delay or rejection. Here are the mandatory requirements:

1. Registration certificate in case of company, AOP, society and registration deed in case of partnership/trust
2. Electricity bill/registry proof in property is owned or rent agreement in case property is on rent
3. First page of bank statement/Bank passbook containing MICR code, IFSC code, Account number
4. Authorization letter for GST registration
5. Passport size photo

There are only two cases where GST registration is not required at all even if the turnover is more than 20 lakh. The two cases are as follows:

1. PERSON SUPPLYING EXEMPTED GOODS/SERVICES

If a person is engaged exclusively in the business of supplying goods or services or both which is either not liable to tax or is wholly exempt, then he shall not be required to register under GST.

2. AN AGRICULTURIST TO THE EXTENT OF SUPPLY OF PRODUCE OUT OF CULTIVATION OF LAND

An agriculturist means an individual or a HUF who undertakes cultivation of land by own or by use of labor.

GST Registration will give the following advantages to a taxpayer

- He is authorized to collect taxes from his customers and pass on the credit of the taxes paid to them.

- He can claim Input Tax Credit of taxes paid to his suppliers and can utilize the same for payment of taxes due.

- Seamless flow of Input Tax Credit from suppliers to recipients at the national level.

All businesses that successfully register under GST are assigned a unique Goods and Services Tax Identification Number also know as GSTIN.

- The first 2 digits of the 15 digit GSTIN will represent the state code. For example: 01 for Jammu and Kashmir, 02 for Himachal Pradesh, 03 for Punjab, etc

- The next 10 digits will be the PAN of person or entity engaged in Business.

1. Who is exempted from requirement to get GST Registration?

GST Registration is not mandatory for persons who

- Supply agricultural produce from cultivation

- Make only exempt supplies (Nil Rated or Non-Taxable supplies) of goods or services

- Make supplies which are entirely covered under reverse charge

2. Can a person get voluntarily registered under GST even though he is not liable?

Yes, a person can get registered voluntarily under GST in terms of sub-section (3) of section 25. All the provisions will apply to him as they apply to a registered person.

3. Is cancellation of GST Registration Certificate possible?

Registration can be cancelled in 2 scenarios:

- When the taxable person wishes to voluntarily cancel his GST registration.

- When the proper officer, on default by the taxable person, moves to cancel the GST registration on his own motion. This may be when the person is not doing business from his declared registered place of business or if he issues tax invoice without making the supply of goods or services.

4. What is the procedure to seek cancellation of GST Registration Certificate?

The taxable person has to apply on the common portal within 30 days. He will declare in the application, the stock held on that date, amount of dues and credit reversal and particulars of payments made towards discharge of such liabilities. If satisfied, the proper officer will cancel the registration within 30 days.

5. Is amendment in GST Registration Certificate possible?

A taxable person can on his own, at the common portal, make amendments in some information without prior approval like e-mail IDs, mobile numbers etc. But in the case of following changes he will have to apply for amendment within 15 days:

- Legal name of the business

- State of place of business or additional place of business

- This will be approved within the next 15 days.

6. What is Aggregate Turnover?

Aggregate Turnover is the total value of

- Taxable supplies including exports and inter-state supplies (excluding inward supplies on which tax is payable on reverse charge basis)

- Exempt supplies

It is to be checked for each PAN holding person or entity for supplies made on all-India basis.

7. Can I apply for a single central GST registration if I have branches in different states?

No, there is no concept of a central GST registration. Every PAN holder will have one GSTIN per State.Therefore, an entity having its branches in more than one state will have to take separate state wise registrations for each of its branches in different states even if they hold a single PAN.

8. Do I have to take separate GST registrations for multiple branches within the same state?

An entity will have a single registration in each state for each PAN. Therefore, it can list only one place as its principal place of business and show all the other branches as additional places of business in that state. However, an entity can obtain separate registrations if in case it has separate business verticals within the state.

9. Who is a Casual taxable person?

A Casual taxable person is one who has a registered business in some State in India, but wants to effect supplies from some other State in which he is not having any fixed place of business. Such person needs to register in the State from where he seeks to supply as a Casual taxable person.

10. Who is a Non-Resident taxable person?

A Non-Resident taxable person is one who is a foreigner and occasionally wants to effect taxable supplies from any State in India, and for that he needs GST registration

11. What are the provisions related to registration for Casual Taxable Person and Non-Resident Taxable person?

12. What is composition scheme?

Composition scheme is introduced for small tax payers to reduce the compliance burden on them

- File summarized returns on a quarterly basis instead of multiple monthly returns

- Pay tax only to a maximum of 2% for manufacturers, 5% for restaurant service sector and 1% for other suppliers

- Cannot collect any tax from or issue tax invoice to customers

- Cannot avail input tax credit

13. Am I eligible for registration under composition scheme?

Only those persons who fulfill all the following are eligible to apply for composition scheme

- deals only in intra-state supply of goods (or service of only restaurant sector)

- does not supply goods that are not leviable to tax

- has an annual turnover below 75 lakhs in preceding financial year

- shall pay tax at normal rates in case he is liable under reverse charge mechanism.

- not supplying through e-commerce operator

- not a manufacturer of - ice cream, pan masala or tobacco (and its substitutes)

14. How can I register for the Composition Scheme?

You need to file an online application to opt for Composition Scheme. Taxpayers who can opt for this scheme can be categorized as below:

- Migrated Taxpayers: Any taxpayer who has migrated from earlier laws and has been granted provisional registration certificate can file an application under Form GST CMP-01 and further details in Form GST CMP-03 within 30 days after 1st July 2017.

- New Taxpayers: Any person who is liable to register under GST Act after 1st July 2017 can file Form GST REG-01 and choose his option to pay composition amount in the New Registration application.

- Existing Taxpayers: Any taxpayer who is registered as normal tax payer under GST regime shall file an application under Form CMP-02 to opt for Composition Scheme at least 7 days prior to the commencement of financial year for which the option to pay tax under composition is exercised.

15. What if I am required to register under TDS and TCS Provisions?

Due to deferment in notifying the applicability of TDS and TCS (e-commerce operator) provisions under GST, Registration for the same will open from 25th July 2017.

16. Who is an ISD? Will ISD require a separate registration?

ISD means Input Service Distributor. It is like a head office that receives the tax invoices of input services and then further distributes the credit of tax paid by it to its units proportionately.The ISD registration is different from the normal registration for the taxpayer.