ENROLMENT OF EXISTING TAX PAYERS UNDER GST COMMON PORTAL

[Mr. M. GOVINDARAJAN]

Enrolment

Enrolment under GST means validating the data of existing taxpayers and filling up the remaining key fields by the taxpayer in the Enrolment Application at the GST Common Portal.  There is no deemed enrolment.  All the tax payers shall visit the common portal and enroll themselves in the portal for all compliances.  No fee is chargeable for such enrolment.

Existing tax payer

An existing taxpayer is an entity currently registered under any State or Central laws, like Value Added Tax Act, Central Excise Act and Service Tax Act.

Existing taxpayers include taxpayers already registered under-

• Central Excise
• Service Tax
• State Sales Tax or VAT (except exclusive liquor dealers if registered under VAT)
• Entry Tax
• Luxury Tax
• Entertainment Tax (except levied by the local bodies).

Migration to GST

GSTN shall migrate all such assessees/dealers to the GSTN network and shall issue GSTIN number and password.  They will be asked to submit all requisite documents and information required for registration in a prescribed period of time.  Failure to do so will result in cancellation of GSTN number.

The Service tax assessees having centralized registration will have to apply afresh in the respective states wherever they have their business.

Required information and documents

Before enrolling with the GST Common Portal, one has to ensure the following information-

• Provisional ID received from Central/State Authorities;
• Password received from Central/State Authorities;
• Valid email id;
• Valid mobile number;
• Bank account number;
• Bank IFSC Code.

Documents

Sl. No.	Documents	File size Format	Maximum allowable size
1	Proof of constitution of business- In case of partnership firm-partnership deed; In case of others – Registration certificate of the business entity	PDF or JPEG	1 MB
2	Photographs of promoters/partners/Karta of HUF	JPEG	100 KBM
3	Proof of appointment of authorized signatory	PDF or JPEG	1 MB
4	Photograph of authorized signatory	JPEG	100 KB
5	Opening page of pass book/statement containing bank account number, address of branch, address of the account holder and few transaction details.	PDF or JPEG	1 MB

Authorized signatory

The following can be the authorized signatory-

• In case of proprietor – The proprietor or any person authorized by the proprietor;
• In case of partnership – Any authorized partner or any person authorized by the partners;
• In case of Company, LLP, Society or Trust – The person authorized by the Board or Governing body.

In case there is a single Authorized Signatory for a business entity, the single Authorized Signatory will be assumed to be the primary Authorized Signatory.   In case there are multiple Authorized Signatories for a single business entity, one Authorized Signatory needs to be designated as primary Authorized Signatory. The e-mail address and mobile number of the Authorized Signatory needs to be provided during enrolment.   The Authorized signatory or Primary Authorized Signatory shall not be a minor.

OTP

The OTP sent to e-mail address and mobile number is valid for 10 minutes. It expires after 10 minutes.  The OTP is sent on registered mobile number and e-mail address. If it has not been received within 10 minutes, click the RESEND OTP button. The OTP will be sent again on to registered e-mail address and mobile number.   During verification, two separate OTPs are sent. One OTP is sent on e-mail address and another OPT is sent on mobile number

Enter the OTP that received on  e-mail address in the Email OTP field.

Enter the OTP received on mobile number in the Mobile OTP field.

Bank accounts

The details of the bank accounts used for the purpose of carrying out business transactions are to be entered in the Enrolment Application while enrolling with the GST Common Portal.  One can add up to 10 bank accounts while enrolling with GST Common Portal in the Enrolment Application.

Electronically signing

One can submit the Enrolment Application at GST Common Portal without electronically signing it but it is needed to sign the application at a later date within the time allowed under the GST Act. Only signed Enrolment Applications shall be considered for issue of Final Registration Certificate. One can view the submitted application after login by accessing “My Saved Applications” at the GST Common Portal.

Electronically signing the Enrolment Application using DSC is mandatory for enrolment by Companies, Foreign Companies, Limited Liability Partnership (LLPs) and Foreign Limited Liability Partnership (FLLPs). For other taxpayers, electronically signing using DSC is optional.

One cannot submit the Enrolment Application if his DSC is not registered with the GST Common Portal. Therefore, he needs to register his  DSC at the GST Common Portal by clicking the Register DSC menu.

During registration of DSC with the GST Common Portal, the PAN of the DSC holder will be matched with the PAN database of the CBDT. After validation he needs to select the certificate that he needs to register.   Only Class -2 or Class 3 DSC can be registered at the GST Common Portal.

E-sign

E-Sign stands for Electronic Signature. E-Sign is an online electronic signature service that allows an Aadhaar holder to digitally sign a document. If the taxpayer opts to electronically sign the Enrollment Application or any other document at the GST Common Portal using the E-Sign service, the following steps are performed:-

1. The taxpayer clicks the E-sign button.

2. The GST Common Portal prompts the taxpayer to enter the Aadhaar number of the Authorized Signatory.

3. After validating the Aadhar Number, the GST Common Portal sends a request to UIDAI system to send an OTP.

4. UIDAI system sends an OTP to e-mail address and mobile number registered against Aadhaar number.

5. The GST System prompts the taxpayer to enter the OTP.

6. The taxpayer enters the OTP and submits the Enrollment Application or the document. The e-Signing process is completed.

Application Reference Number

Application Reference Number (ARN) is a unique number assigned to each transaction completed at the GST Common Portal. It will also be generated on submission of the Enrolment Application that is electronically signed using DSC. ARN can be used for future correspondence with GSTN.  If ARN is not received within 15 minutes of submission of the Enrolment Application, an e-mail will be sent to the applicant with detailed instructions for further course of action.                                  

 Rejection of enrolment application

The enrolment application for enrolment under GST can be rejected in case incorrect details have been furnished or uploaded fake or incorrect documents have been attached with the Enrolment Application and the application is electronically signed. However, the applicant taxpayer will be provided reasonable opportunity of being heard where applicant taxpayer can present his or her viewpoints.

Amendment to enrolment application

The enrolment application can be amended after the appointed date.  The mobile number and e-mail address can be changed after the appointed date on following the amendment process.

Provisional registration certificate

Section 142 of the Model Goods and Services Tax, Act, 2016 (‘Act’ for short), provides that on the appointed day (01.04.2017 probably) every person registered under any of the earlier laws as indicated above, shall be issued a certificate of registration on a provisional basis.   The said certificate shall be in Form GST REG – 21 which will incorporate the Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN) and made available on the Common Portal.  This provisional certificate will be valid for a period of six months from the date of its issue.  The said validity period may be extended for such further period as the Central/State Government may, on the recommendation of the Council, notify.

Provisional ID

The provisional ID issued is 15 digits PAN based number.  The first two digits represent the State Code.  The next 10 digits represent the PAN of the tax payer.  The thirteenth digit represents the entity number of the same PAN holder in a state.  The Fourteenth digit represents the alphabet ‘Z’ by default and the last digit represents – check sum digit.

Certificate of registration

A person, who gets provisional registration shall submit an application electronically in Form GST REG – 21, duly signed along with the information and documents specified in the application on the common portal either directory or through a Facilitation Centre, notified by the Board of Commissioner, within six months.  If the information and particulars furnished in the application are found to be correct and complete, the proper officer shall issue a certificate of registration in Form GST REG – 06 and made available to the registered taxable person electronically on the Common Portal.

Cancellation of provisional registration

If the taxable person fails to furnish the information or the information furnished is found to be incorrect or incomplete, the proper officer shall cancel the provisional registration and issue an order in Form GST REG 22.  No cancellation shall be done without serving a notice to show cause in Form GST REG 23 and without affording the person concerned a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

Every person registered under any of the earlier laws, who is not liable to be registered under the Act, may at his option file electronically an application in Form GST REG 24 at the Common Portal for cancellation of the registration granted provisionally given to him.  The proper officer shall, after conducting such enquiry as deemed fit, cancel the said provisional registration.

Registration of existing ISD

An Input Service Distributor refers to a person who distributes credit, in respect of the tax invoices of the services received at the Head Office, to its branches where the services have been supplied actually. Tax invoice refers to the invoice issued under Section 23 of the Model Goods and Services Act.   An existing ISD Taxpayer is required to apply afresh in the GST Common Portal for the State in which he desires to seek registration. For that he needs to inform your Central Jurisdictional Authority.

Persons not having IT savvy

In order to cater to the needs of tax payers who are not IT savvy, the following facilities shall be made available-

• Tax Return Preparer – A taxable person may approach the Tax Return preparer for assistance.The TRP will file the required application on the basis of information furnished to him by the taxable person;
• Facilitation Center – It shall be responsible for the digitalization and/or uploading of the forms and documents including summary sheet duly signed by the Authorized Signatory and given to it by the taxable person.After uploading the data on common portal using the ID and password of facilitation center, a print out of acknowledgement will be taken and signed by the facilitation centre and handed over to the taxable person for his records.The Facilitation centre will scan and upload the summary sheet duly signed by the Authorized signatory.

Reference:

www.gst.gov.in