GST

Reopening of GST Registration – Goods & Service Tax

The registration window under GST will be closed on 15^th June 2017. Earlier the GST registration facility was temporarily closed on 30^th April 2017, but then it reopened on 1^st June 2017 for an additional period of 15 days to give another opportunity to eligible taxpayers to register themselves. This extended period is ending on 15^th June 2017.

If you are an eligible taxpayer and still haven’t been registered under GST, then don’t panic. It’s not like you have lost the opportunity forever. Another extension for such registration is expected and the registrations might reopen from 25^th June 2017.

Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) is a common portal that provides the technology backbone to the GST in India. GST Chairman Mr. Navin Kumar has said, “Whoever wants to do business under GST and wants to migrate, we will provide the facility to them even after 15^th June. From June 25^th, anyone who is left out now, can come and file information and migrate to GST.”

Why is the GST Registration Going to be Reopened?

GST Registration is PAN-based which means any taxpayer with a valid PAN can register under GST easily. Any taxpayer registered under any old laws relating to the VAT, CST, Excise or any other type of indirect tax, which are set to be replaced by GST under the new regime, will have to be switched to it.

So, we can say that it is the obligation of the government to provide them with a smooth transition process. Currently, around 80 lakh taxpayers are already registered as assessed under the old laws relating to the VAT, Excise and service tax; out of which only approximately 64.35 lakh have already migrated to GST.

Unawareness on the part of the Taxpayer

Despite the fact that around 80% of such taxpayers had completed their migration formally, many of them are not aware that valid migration does not constitute a valid registration under GST.

To complete the registration procedure, a taxpayer will have to submit a certain documents for GST registration and information required under the rules prescribed. And lastly, they are required to verify such information provided either by:

• attaching Digital Signature (DSC) in the case of private limited companies and LLPs or
• through a generation of Electronic Verification Code (EVC), if verification is done through ADHAAR.

One major consequence of not completing this second step involved in the registration procedure is that such assesses who have not submitted their documents and information will not be eligible to issue invoices under GST for goods and services.

The Government is All Set for the GST Implementation

Earlier certain sections of the industry demanded an extension of implementation of GST, but the Finance Ministry has issued a statement condemning all rumors about such extensions and confirming that GST will roll-out on the scheduled date i.e. 1^st July 2017.

The government is working in full swing, and even Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi had reviewed the work done and the preparedness on the ministry’s part. It is a major reform, and the database relating to all taxpayers earlier maintained by different central and state-level authorities are to be merged into a single database maintained on a central level. This calls for a strong IT database and a service backbone as well as a robust settlement mechanism.

The finance ministry is working in full swing and taking all the necessary steps for the smooth implementation of GST. Now it is the responsibility of taxpayers to stop criticizing the authorities about the complexities of procedures and register themselves on the common portal as soon as the registration reopens.

Read our article: Compliance Deadlines for Composition Taxpayers Relaxed