Is it mandatory to surrender/ cancel the registration certificate after ceasing to provide taxable service? Is there any specific format for surrender of registration certificate?

06 - Registration

Yes. Where a registered person ceases to provide taxable services for which he is registered, he immediately should surrender the registration certificate. All the registration certification shall be surrendered before the Superintendent of Central Excise. With effect from 1-03-2006, Rule 4(8) further provides that on receipt of the certificate of registration, the Superintendent of Central Excise shall ensure that the assessee has paid all his money due to the Government under the provisions of the Act and then he will cancel the registration certificate. 

There is no prescribed format of application for surrender of registration certificate. A simple application is sufficient for surrender of Registration certificate. However, commissioner of Service Tax, Mumbai has issued a trade notice no. 18/2013 dated 19-12-2013 prescribing the procedure for surrender and cancellation of Service Tax Registration. As per  trade notice broadly, surrender/cancellation of the service tax registration is applied for  following reasons:-

a) Assessee's  turnover is below the threshold limit.

b) Change in the constitution of assessee, say from partnership to company or amalgamations.

c) Death of proprietor.

d) Assessee closing down his taxable service business.

e) Assessee has taken centralized registration and hence wants to surrender his other multiple registrations pertaining to the branches.

f)  Assessee   has   shifted   its   office   from   the   jurisdiction of   one  Division/Commissionerate to another and instead of requesting for change in the location code and premises code of the assessee, a fresh registration has been taken at the new address. Therefore a need arises for surrender of the old registration.

g)  Due to technical error in the system, the assessee has been issued multiple registrations for the same address. In that case, the additional registrations are required to be surrendered.

All the assessees falling under category (a) to (g) of Para 3 are required to submit following documents:

(i) Application Form & Undertaking for surrender of Service Tax Registration  (Annexure-I)

(ii) Copies of ST-3 returns filed with the department from the date of taking registration till the date of surrender but up to a maximum of last six returns only.

In case the assessee has not filed ST-3  returns for the period mentioned above, then it is not necessary for him to file the fresh return for surrender purpose if his taxable turnover is below the exemption limit. He can apply for waiver of penalty under Rule 7C of STR for non-filing of returns. Instructions have been issued for waiver of penalty for non filing of return where total taxable turnover was less than  threshold  limit. The fact of non-filing of return should be clearly mentioned in the undertaking.

(iii)  Copies of Profit & Loss account and Balance Sheet from the date of taking registration to the date of surrender but for a maximum of last 3 financial years only. However, if Balance Sheet or Profit & Loss Statement has not been prepared, the applicant may submit copies of Income Tax Return for the said period. If said return has also not been filed then applicant should provide some evidence like Bank Statement to satisfy the office  about  correctness of reason for surrender. [Not  required  for category (e) & (g)]

(iv) Details of Show Cause Notice pending adjudication, details of confirmed  demands, details of court cases, details of audit conducted, etc. as per  Annexure-II.

Dated: 31-3-2015