What Is GSTIN?

Before the implementation of the GST, all vendors enrolled under state VAT legislation were given a unique TIN number by the individual state tax authorities, In the same way, service providers have been allocated a service tax enrollment number by the Central Board of Excise and Custom (CBEC).

Before GST was actualized, all vendors enlisted under the state VAT law were appointed a unique TIN number by the particular state tax officials. Likewise, providers of service are allotted a service tax enlistment number by the Central Board of Excise and Custom (CBEC). Under the GST system, every enlisted citizen is solidified into one unified platform for consistency and compliance purposes and are given enrollment under one authority. Around 8 million citizens transferred from different platforms into GST.

Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN) is a special 15 digit number relegated to a vendor or a provider of service by the tax authorities.

Before GST, a vendor needed to get enlisted under state VAT laws, and a provider fo service needed to get enrolled under the Central Board of Excise and Custom (CBEC).

After the Government of India implemented GST, both the vendors and the service providers are enrolled under one authority for consistency and regulatory reasons and doled out an exceptional ID number called GSTIN for every registered tax-paying citizen.

Should You Register?

Registration of GST is compulsory for businesses with a cumulative yearly turnover of  Rs 20 lakhs or more in a year in most of the Indian states. In addition, companies involved in the inter-state distribution system, online trade, export/import are needed to acquire GST registration on a mandatory basis, regardless of the cumulative yearly turnover.

It would, therefore, be better if you enrolled for GST for compliance purposes. Also, registering for GST and obtaining a GSTIN is completely free of cost.

Here is a list of documents that are mandatory for you to have in order to register under the GST act

• Permanent account number (PAN
• Contact number
• House address
• Photocopy of bank statement
• Proof of address (electricity bill, water bill, etc)
• If you happen to be a Pvt. Limited company, you will need the board resolution, MOA & AOA, company registration certificate, PAN, and Identity proof of the directors.
• If you happen to be a limited liability company then you will require an LLP Partnership agreement, partnership registration certificate, board resolution, PAN, and Identity proof of partners.
• If its a partnership then you will require ID proof of the partners in question, the partnership deed, and the PAN number.
• For individual ownership and a sole proprietorship, you are required to submit a declaration stating that you will comply with all the GST rules and regulations.

After you successfully completed and submitted the application form, it will take roughly about 10 days for you to get your Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN) along with a GST registration certificate. You can always track the progress of your application form by visiting the official GST portal, you can use the ARN number provided to you after the submission of the registration form.

GST Identification Number Structure

Here is the breakdown of the Goods and Service Tax Identification Number

• The initial 2 digits represent the state code. The state code might be any number between 01-37.
• The following 10 numbers represent the organization’s PAN card
• The next one is the number of enrollments that the organization has in the state. This is useful especially company with a number of verticals that need to enroll every vertical for GST in the state. For the second enrollment, the second number will be utilized, for the third figure of registration, three would be used, and so on.
• The 14th figure is the alphabet “Z”, it is kept empty for future use.
• The 15th character is a checksum figure for detecting any GSTIN number errors. It is calculated on the basis of the significance of the very first 14 figures.

 Verification Of GSTIN

To verify a GSTIN visit GST website to check the authenticity of a GST number. Once you visit the website click on “Search Taxpayer” then click on “Search by GSTIN / UIN” and type out the GST number you wish to verify. For a legitimate GST number, information of the business, which includes legal name, date of registration, and GST return filing information, would be displayed.