CHAPTER VI

REGISTRATION
Commentary :

Registration is the most fundamental requirement for identification of tax payers ensuring tax
compliance in the economy. Registration of any business entity under the GST Law implies
obtaining a unique number from the concerned tax authorities for the purpose of collecting
tax on behalf of the government and to avail Input Tax Credit for the taxes on his inward
supplies. Without registration, a person can neither collect tax from his customers nor claim
any input Tax Credit of tax paid by him.

22. PERSONS LIABLE FOR REGISTRATION.

(1) Every supplier shall be liable to be registered under this Act in the State or Union
territory, other than special category States, from where he makes a taxable supply of
goods or services or both, if his aggregate turnover in a financial year exceeds twenty
lakh rupees:

Provided that where such person makes taxable supplies of goods or services or both
from any of the special category States, he shall be liable to be registered if his
aggregate turnover in a financial year exceeds ten lakh rupees.

(2) Every person who, on the day immediately preceding the appointed day, is registered or
holds a licence under an existing law, shall be liable to be registered under this Act with
effect from the appointed day.

(3) Where a business carried on by a taxable person registered under this Act is transferred,
whether on account of succession or otherwise, to another person as a going concern,
the transferee or the successor, as the case may be, shall be liable to be registered with
effect from the date of such transfer or succession.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (1) and (3), in a case of transfer
pursuant to sanction of a scheme or an arrangement for amalgamation or, as the case
may be, demerger of two or more companies pursuant to an order of a High Court,
Tribunal or otherwise, the transferee shall be liable to be registered, with effect from the
date on which the Registrar of Companies issues a certificate of incorporation giving
effect to such order of the High Court or Tribunal.

Explanation.––For the purposes of this section,––

(i) the expression “aggregate turnover” shall include all supplies made by the taxable
person, whether on his own account or made on behalf of all his principals;

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(ii) the supply of goods, after completion of job work, by a registered job worker shall be
treated as the supply of goods by the principal referred to in section 143, and the value
of such goods shall not be included in the aggregate turnover of the registered job
worker;

(iii) the expression “special category States” shall mean the States as specified in sub-clause
(g) of clause (4) of article 279A of the Constitution.

Commentary :

A Supplier has to register in each of such State or Union territory from where he effects
supply, that means, a business entity having its branches in multiple States will have to take
separate State wise registration for the branches in different States.

Special category states as specified in Article 279A(4)(g) of the Constitution of India includes
the State of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur,
Mizoram, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura.

In case of special category states, every supplier needs to be registered if their aggregate
turnover exceeds Rs. 10 lakhs. In case of other states and Union territories, suppliers needs
to be registered if their aggregate turnover exceeds Rs, 20 lakh.

23. PERSONS NOT LIABLE FOR REGISTRATION.

(1) The following persons shall not be liable to registration, namely:––

(a) any person engaged exclusively in the business of supplying goods or services or
both that are not liable to tax or wholly exempt from tax under this Act or under
the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act;

(b) an agriculturist, to the extent of supply of produce out of cultivation of land.

(2) The Government may, on the recommendations of the Council, by notification, specify
the category of persons who may be exempted from obtaining registration under this
Act.

24. COMPULSORY REGISTRATION IN CERTAIN CASES.

Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) of section 22, the following categories of
persons shall be required to be registered under this Act,––

(i) persons making any inter-State taxable supply;

(ii) casual taxable persons making taxable supply;

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(iii) persons who are required to pay tax under reverse charge;

(iv) person who are required to pay tax under sub-section (5) of section 9;

(v) non-resident taxable persons making taxable supply;

(vi) persons who are required to deduct tax under section 51, whether or not separately
registered under this Act;

(vii) persons who make taxable supply of goods or services or both on behalf of other
taxable persons whether as an agent or otherwise;

(viii) Input Service Distributor, whether or not separately registered under this Act;

(ix) persons who supply goods or services or both, other than supplies specified under sub-
section (5) of section 9, through such electronic commerce operator who is required to
collect tax at source under section 52;

(x) every electronic commerce operator;

(xi) every person supplying online information and database access or retrieval services from
a place outside India to a person in India, other than a registered person; and

(xii) such other person or class of persons as may be notified by the Government on the
recommendations of the Council.

Commentary :

It may be noted that persons engaged exclusively in supplies which fall under reverse charge
mechanism, that is, supplies for which tax is to paid by the recipient, such suppliers are not
liable to registration.

25. PROCEDURE FOR REGISTRATION.

(1) Every person who is liable to be registered under section 22 or section 24 shall apply for
registration in every such State or Union territory in which he is so liable within thirty
days from the date on which he becomes liable to registration, in such manner and
subject to such conditions as may be prescribed:

Provided that a casual taxable person or a non-resident taxable person shall apply for
registration at least five days prior to the commencement of business.

Explanation.—Every person who makes a supply from the territorial waters of India shall
obtain registration in the coastal State or Union territory where the nearest point of the
appropriate baseline is located.

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 Commentary :

The term “casual taxable person” is defined under section 2 (20) of CGST Act. The term “non-
resident taxable person” is defined under section 2 (77) of CGST Act.

(2) A person seeking registration under this Act shall be granted a single registration in a
State or Union territory:

Provided that a person having multiple business verticals in a State or Union territory
may be granted a separate registration for each business vertical, subject to such
conditions as may be prescribed.

(3) A person, though not liable to be registered under section 22 or section 24 may get
himself registered voluntarily, and all provisions of this Act, as are applicable to a
registered person, shall apply to such person.

(4) A person who has obtained or is required to obtain more than one registration, whether
in one State or Union territory or more than one State or Union territory shall, in respect
of each such registration, be treated as distinct persons for the purposes of this Act.

(5) Where a person who has obtained or is required to obtain registration in a State or
Union territory in respect of an establishment, has an establishment in another State or
Union territory, then such establishments shall be treated as establishments of distinct
persons for the purposes of this Act.

(6) Every person shall have a Permanent Account Number issued under the Income-tax Act,
1961 in order to be eligible for grant of registration:

Provided that a person required to deduct tax under section 51 may have, in lieu of a
Permanent Account Number, a Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number issued
under the said Act in order to be eligible for grant of registration.

Commentary :

Under Section 51 of CGST Act, Central or State Government department or establishment,

(7) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (6), a non-resident taxable person

(8) Where a person who is liable to be registered under this Act fails to obtain registration,
the proper officer may, without prejudice to any action which may be taken under this

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 Act or under any other law for the time being in force, proceed to register such person
in such manner as may be prescribed.

(9) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1),––

(a) any specialised agency of the United Nations Organisation or any Multilateral
Financial Institution and Organisation notified under the United Nations
(Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947, Consulate or Embassy of foreign
countries; and

(b) any other person or class of persons, as may be notified by the Commissioner,

shall be granted a Unique Identity Number in such manner and for such purposes,
including refund of taxes on the notified supplies of goods or services or both received
by them, as may be prescribed.

(10) The registration or the Unique Identity Number shall be granted or rejected after due
verification in such manner and within such period as may be prescribed.

(11) A certificate of registration shall be issued in such form and with effect from such date
as may be prescribed.

(12) A registration or a Unique Identity Number shall be deemed to have been granted after
the expiry of the period prescribed under sub-section (10), if no deficiency has been
communicated to the applicant within that period.

Commentary :

There are basically four types of Registration, viz. turnover basis, compulsory registration,
voluntary registration and suo moto registration, when the proper officer shall proceed to
register a person.

For obtaining registration, PAN is mandatory. PAN based GST identification number is issued
to every registrant. However in case a person is required to deduct tax under section 51,
registration can be obtained on the basis of TAN, in that case TAN based GST identification
number is issued to the registrant.

Any specialised agency of the United Nations Organisation or any Multilateral Financial
Institution and Organisation notified under the United Nations (Privileges and Immunities)
Act, 1947, Consulate or Embassy of foreign countries shall be granted Unique Identity
Number(UIN)

26. DEEMED REGISTRATION.

(1) The grant of registration or the Unique Identity Number under the State Goods and
Services Tax Act or the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act shall be deemed to

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 be a grant of registration or the Unique Identity Number under this Act subject to the
condition that the application for registration or the Unique Identity Number has not
been rejected under this Act within the time specified in sub-section (10) of section 25.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (10) of section 25, any rejection of
application for registration or the Unique Identity Number under the State Goods and
Services Tax Act or the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act shall be deemed to
be a rejection of application for registration under this Act.

27. SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO CASUAL TAXABLE PERSON AND

(1) The certificate of registration issued to a casual taxable person or a non-resident taxable
person shall be valid for the period specified in the application for registration or ninety
days from the effective date of registration, whichever is earlier and such person shall
make taxable supplies only after the issuance of the certificate of registration:

Provided that the proper officer may, on sufficient cause being shown by the said
taxable person, extend the said period of ninety days by a further period not exceeding
ninety days.

(2) A casual taxable person or a non-resident taxable person shall, at the time of submission
of application for registration under sub-section (1) of section 25, make an advance
deposit of tax in an amount equivalent to the estimated tax liability of such person for
the period for which the registration is sought:

Provided that where any extension of time is sought under sub-section (1), such taxable
person shall deposit an additional amount of tax equivalent to the estimated tax liability
of such person for the period for which the extension is sought.

(3) The amount deposited under sub-section (2) shall be credited to the electronic cash
ledger of such person and shall be utilised in the manner provided under section 49.

Commentary :

The validity of the Registration certificate granted to the casual taxable person and non-
resident taxable person shall be for a period specified in application or ninety days from the
effective date of registration which may be extended, at the request of the said taxable
person to the proper officer, for further period not exceeding ninety days at a time.

However in case of other registered persons, Registration certificate once granted is

28. AMENDMENT OF REGISTRATION.

(1) Every registered person and a person to whom a Unique Identity Number has been

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 assigned shall inform the proper officer of any changes in the information furnished at
the time of registration or subsequent thereto, in such form and manner and within such
period as may be prescribed.

(2) The proper officer may, on the basis of information furnished under sub-section (1) or
as ascertained by him, approve or reject amendments in the registration particulars in
such manner and within such period as may be prescribed:

Provided that approval of the proper officer shall not be required in respect of
amendment of such particulars as may be prescribed:

Provided further that the proper officer shall not reject the application for amendment in
the registration particulars without giving the person an opportunity of being heard.

(3) Any rejection or approval of amendments under the State Goods and Services Tax Act or
the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act, as the case may be, shall be deemed to
be a rejection or approval under this Act.

Commentary :

It may be noted that permission of the proper officer for making amendments will be
required for only certain core fields of information, whereas for the other fields, the registrant
can himself carry out the amendments.

Where the change in constitution of business results in change of PAN, fresh registration is to
be obtained.

29. CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION.

(1) The proper officer may, either on his own motion or on an application filed by the
registered person or by his legal heirs, in case of death of such person, cancel the
registration, in such manner and within such period as may be prescribed, having regard
to the circumstances where,––

(a) the business has been discontinued, transferred fully for any reason including
death of the proprietor, amalgamated with other legal entity, demerged or
otherwise disposed of; or

(b) there is any change in the constitution of the business; or

(c) the taxable person, other than the person registered under sub-section (3) of
section 25, is no longer liable to be registered under section 22 or section 24.

(2) The proper officer may cancel the registration of a person from such date, including any
retrospective date, as he may deem fit, where,––

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 (a) a registered person has contravened such provisions of the Act or the rules made
thereunder as may be prescribed; or

(b) a person paying tax under section 10 has not furnished returns for three
consecutive tax periods; or

(c) any registered person, other than a person specified in clause (b), has not
furnished returns for a continuous period of six months; or

(d) any person who has taken voluntary registration under sub-section (3) of section
25 has not commenced business within six months from the date of registration;
or

(e) registration has been obtained by means of fraud, wilful misstatement or

Provided that the proper officer shall not cancel the registration without giving
the person an opportunity of being heard.

(3) The cancellation of registration under this section shall not affect the liability of the
person to pay tax and other dues under this Act or to discharge any obligation under
this Act or the rules made thereunder for any period prior to the date of cancellation
whether or not such tax and other dues are determined before or after the date of
cancellation.

(4) The cancellation of registration under the State Goods and Services Tax Act or the Union
Territory Goods and Services Tax Act, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be a
cancellation of registration under this Act.

(5) Every registered person whose registration is cancelled shall pay an amount, by way of
debit in the electronic credit ledger or electronic cash ledger, equivalent to the credit of
input tax in respect of inputs held in stock and inputs contained in semi-finished or
finished goods held in stock or capital goods or plant and machinery on the day
immediately preceding the date of such cancellation or the output tax payable on such
goods, whichever is higher, calculated in such manner as may be prescribed:

Provided that in case of capital goods or plant and machinery, the taxable person shall
pay an amount equal to the input tax credit taken on the said capital goods or plant and
machinery, reduced by such percentage points as may be prescribed or the tax on the
transaction value of such capital goods or plant and machinery under section 15,
whichever is higher.

(6) The amount payable under sub-section (5) shall be calculated in such manner as may be
prescribed.

30. REVOCATION OF CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION.

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(1) Subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, any registered person, whose
registration is cancelled by the proper officer on his own motion, may apply to such
officer for revocation of cancellation of the registration in the prescribed manner within
thirty days from the date of service of the cancellation order.

(2) The proper officer may, in such manner and within such period as may be prescribed, by
order, either revoke cancellation of the registration or reject the application:

Provided that the application for revocation of cancellation of registration shall not be
rejected unless the applicant has been given an opportunity of being heard.

(3) The revocation of cancellation of registration under the State Goods and Services Tax
Act or the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act, as the case may be, shall be
deemed to be a revocation of cancellation of registration under this Act.

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