How to Apply For GST Registration in Mumbai

Narendra Kumar

02 Apr, 2021

GST is one of a single tax on the supply of goods & services, from the producer to the customer. Credits of input taxes paid at each stage will be available in the succeeding stage of value addition, which makes GST fundamentally a tax only on value addition at every stage. The final customer will, therefore, tolerate only the GST charged by the last dealer in the supply chain, with set-off benefits at all the previous stages. This article is describing the process of GST Registration in Mumbai.

GST is the main tax restructuring in India, very enlightening ease of carrying on business & growing the taxpayer base in India by bringing in millions of small businesses in India. By eliminating& subsuming multiple taxes into a single system, the Electronic Federal Tax Payment^[1] System would be reduced while the tax base is increased considerably. Under the new GST regime, all entities involved in purchasing or selling goods or providing services or both are required to GST Registration in Mumbai.

Individuals without GST registration shall not be allowed to assemble GST from a customer or claim an input tax credit of GST paid or shall be punished. Moreover, registering under GST is compulsory when an entity crosses the minimum threshold turnover of starts a new business that is foreseeable to cross the set turnover.

All the business entities who are operating for a taxable supply of goods or services & whose turnover exceeds the threshold limit of ₹ 20 lakhs (₹ 10 lakhs for North Eastern & hill states) is required to register as a normal taxable person. This procedure of registration is called GST registration. For some business entities, registering under GST is required. If the establishments carry on business without registering under GST, it shall be an offence under GST &hefty penalties shall apply. Business entities who are registered below any of the pre-GST laws which comprise of the VAT, Excise, Service, etc. Except for the aggregate turnover norms, an individual might be needed to get GST registration, if they undertake inter-state supply of goods or services or have an existing VAT or service tax or central excise registration.

Eligibility Criteria for GST Registration in Mumbai

• Businesses that require registering under GST regardless of their turnover
• Every person who is registered under the Pre-GST law (i.e., Excise, VAT, Service Tax, etc.) Require registering under GST.
• When a business which is registered has been transferred to someone, the transferee shall take registration with effect from the date of transfer.
• Anyone who drives the inter-state supply of goods
• Casual taxable person
• Non-Resident taxable person
• Agents of a supplier
• Those paying tax under the reverse charge mechanism
• Input service distributor
• E-commerce operator or aggregator
• The person who supplies via e-commerce aggregator
• The person providing online info& database access or retrieval services from a place outside India to a person in India, excluding a registered taxable person
• Notifications

E-commerce sellers/aggregators shall not register if total sales are less than ₹ 20 lakhs. Notification No. 65/2017 – Central Tax dated 15.11.2017

The persons who are engaged in service providing as inter-state services are exempt from registering if their annual turnover is below 20lakhs (10 lakhs for Special states. 20 lakhs for J&K)

Job workers making the inter-state supply of services to a registered person are exempted from registration if their turnover is below 20lakhs (10 lakhs for Special states)

• Turnover Criteria

Business entities carrying of supplying of goods or services with an annual aggregate turnover of in excess of ₹ 20 lakhs in most States are obligatory to register for GST necessarily. In special category states, the aggregate turnover criteria have been reduced to ₹10 lakhs. Furthermore to the turnover criteria, there are numerous other conditions that might mandate GST registration.

• Inter-State Supply

Registering below GST is compulsory for entities undertaking inter-state supply of goods or services, regardless of aggregate annual turnover. For instance, if a business in Maharashtra supplies goods to a business in Karnataka, then GST registration is required.

• E-Commerce Sellers

Business entities who are involved in the supply of goods or services through e-commerce platforms are necessarily required to be registered under GST, regardless of aggregate annual turnover. Henceforth, sellers on e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipchart, etc. would have to register under GST necessarily.

• Current Taxpayers

All business entities who are having service tax or VAT or central excise registration must be registered under GST necessarily. Existing taxpayers have been provided with Provisional ID & password for completion of GST migration formalities & generation of GSTIN by the respective tax departments.

• Casual Taxable Persons

A casual taxable person is someone who occasionally undertakes supply of goods or services having no fixed place of business. An instance of a casual taxable individual can be a fireworks shops setup only during Diwali i.e. festival time, trading in fireworks or a temporary food stall.

• Multiple GST registrations

If business entities function from more than 1 state, then a distinct GST registration is essential for every state. For instance, if a vendor sells in Karnataka & Tamil Nadu, he has to apply for separate GST registration in Karnataka & Tamil Nadu respectively. A business with multiple business verticals in a state may obtain a separate registration for each business vertical.

• Composition scheme

Small businesses having an annual turnover of fewer than ₹ 75 lakhs can opt for Composition scheme. Composition traders shall pay nominal tax rates based on the kind of business like Manufacture – 2%, Trader (goods) – 1%, Supplier of foods & drinks for human consumption – 5% (except alcohol). Composition dealers are obligatory to file only 1 quarterly return (instead of three monthly returns filed by normal taxpayers).

They can provide taxable invoices, i.e., collect tax from clients& are obligatory to pay the tax out of their own pocket. Business entities that have chosen for Composition Scheme can’t claim any input tax credit. But, Composition scheme shall not be applicable to service providers, Interstate vendor, E-commerce vendors, Supplier of non-taxable goods, Producer of Notified Goods.

Documents Required for GST Registration in Mumbai

• PAN Card of the Applicant
• Proof of Business Registration or COI (Certificate of Incorporation)
• Identity & Address Proof of promoters along with Photograph
• Address Proof of the Place of Business
• Bank Statement or Cancelled Cheque
• Digital Signature Certificate (DSC)
• PAN Card of the Business or Applicant

GST registration in Mumbai is linked to the PAN of the business. Hence, PAN must be obtained for the legal entity before applying for GST Registration.

• Identity & Address Proof along with Photographs

The following persons are required to submit their identity proof & address proof along with photographs. For identity proof, documents like PAN, passport, driving license, Aadhaar card or voter’s identity card can be submitted. For address proof, documents like passport, driving license, Aadhaar card, voter’s identity card & ration card can be submitted.

• Proprietary Concern – Proprietor
• Partnership Firm / LLP – Managing/Authorized/Designated Partners (personal details of all partners are to be submitted but photos of only ten partners including that of Managing Partner are to be submitted)
• Hindu Undivided Family – Karta
• Company – Managing Director, Directors & the Authorised Person
• Trust – Managing Trustee, Trustees & Authorised Person
• Association of Persons or Body of Individuals –Members of Managing Committee (personal details of all members are to be submitted but photos of only ten members including that of Chairman are to be submitted)
• Local Authority – CEO or his equivalent
• Statutory Body – CEO or his equivalent
• Others – Person(s) in Charge
• Business Registration Document

Proof of business registration must be submitted for all types of entities. For proprietors, there is no requirement for giving this document, as the proprietors are considered a similar legal entity. In case of partnership firm the partnership deed necessity to be submitted. In the event of LLP or Company, the incorporation certificate from registrar shall is provided. However, for other types of entities like society, trust, club, government department or body of individuals, registration certificate can be provided

• Address Proof of Place of Business

For every place of business stated in the GST registration request, address proof shall be given. The subsequent documents are acceptable as address proof for GST registration.

• For Own premises – Any document in support of the ownership of the premises like the latest Property Tax Receipt or Municipal Khata copy or a copy of Electricity Bill.
• For Rented or Leased Premises – A copy of the valid rental agreement with any document in support of the ownership of the premises of the Lesser like Latest Property Tax Receipt or Municipal Khata copy or a copy of Electricity Bill. If the rental agreement or lease deed is not available, then an affidavit to that effect along with any document in support of the possession of the premises like a copy of an electricity bill is acceptable.
• SEZ Premises – If the principal place of business is located in an SEZ or the applicant is an SEZ developer, necessary documents/certificates issued by Government of India are required to be uploaded.
• All Other Cases – For all other cases, a copy of the consent letter of the owner of the premises with any document in support of the ownership of the premises of the Consenter like Municipal Khata copy or Electricity Bill copy. For shared properties also, the same documents can be uploaded.
• Bank Account Proof

Copy of the 1^stpage of bank passbook or the related page of a bank statement or a copy of a cancelled cheque comprising the name of the Proprietor or Business entity, Bank Account No., MICR, IFSC & Branch details including code.

• Digital Signature

All application for GST registration in Mumbai must be digitally signed with a Class 2 Digital Signature. Hence, it’s important that the digital signature is obtained for the following person who is authorized to sign the GST registration application before beginning the application process.

GST Registration Process in Mumbai

• Log on to www.gst.gov.in.
• Click on the ‘Services’ tab on the menu at the top of the page.
• You will have three options, viz. ‘Registration’, ‘Payments, & ‘User Services’.
• Click on ‘Registration’ & select ‘New Registration’.
• You will be redirected to a new page wherein you will have to select whether you are a taxpayer or a GST practitioner before entering a few details such as the legal name of the business, the state & district in which the entity is located, Permanent Account Number, email address & mobile number. This is basically Part-A of the form.
• The details you have entered will have to be verified by the portal, so you will receive a one-time password or an email for a confirmation.
• Based on the kind of business you are running, you will be required to upload a few documents as requested.
• Part-B of the form will then have to be filled in with a few details after which you will receive the Application Reference Number through email or SMS.
• One’s application shall then be confirmed by a GST officer & it might either be approved or one shall be requested to give some extra details or documents till the authorities have all the obligatory info to approve one’s application.
• Separate registration has to be done for each state if a trader has branches in multiple states. Businesses with more than 1 vertical can register separately for each of them.
• As GST has just been introduced, it may take us a while to get used to it & understand it. At present, all assesses have been asked to register for GST & not procedure is in place for people who do not want to register for it. One can select to cancel their registration after registering though.
• When the GST request& the attached documents are confirmed by the Officer, GSTIN & GST Certificate is provided.
• GSTIN

All business entity that effectively registers under GST is allocated a unique Goods & Services Tax Identification Number also known as GSTIN.

Read our article:What is GST? Benefits of Goods and Service Tax