Documents Required for GST Registration

You will need a GST registration certificate if you belong to the categories below. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate which group you belong to if you are researching documents required for GST registration.

Key categories of individuals/entities who are eligible for GST registration include the following:

• Normal Taxpayer
• GST Practitioner
• Tax Deductor at Source
• Tax Collector at Source
• Non Resident Taxable Person
• Non Resident Online Services Provider
• UN Bodies, Embassies or Other Notified Person

The documentation required to complete GST registration is slightly different from one type of entity to another and we will discuss this next.

A normal taxpayer registering under Goods and Services Tax includes multiple sub-categories such as:

• Proprietorship
• Partnership
• Hindu Undivided Family
• Foreign Company
• Limited Liability Partnership
• Foreign Limited Liability Partnership
• Government Department
• Private Limited Company
• Society/Association of Persons (AOP)/Club/Trust
• Unlimited Company, etc.

Documents that normal taxpayers need to provide when registering under the Goods and Services Tax Regime in India can be classified into 5 key categories:

• Proof of constitution of business such as letter of incorporation, certificate of establishment, registration certificate, any proof of substantiating constitution, etc.
• Photo of stakeholder
• Photo of authorised signatory
• Proof of appointment of authorised signatory such as letter of authorisation, copy of resolution passed by Board of Directors/Managing Committee and Acceptance Letter, etc.
• Proof of principal place of business

The proof of principal place of business can vary based on the type of proof for principal place of business at the time of GST registration. Read on to know the details.

As mentioned earlier a factor that plays a role in determing the correct documents that are required for GST registration is the nature of possession of the premises. This impacts the type of document that can used as proof of Principal Place of Business. The available options and applicable documents for GST registration include the following:

Other documents that can be used as proof of principal place of business to register under current GST rules include:

• Electricity Bill
• Municipal Khata Copy
• Property Tax Receipt

A GST practitioner is a tax professional who can prepare GST returns and perform other GST-related services on behlf of the GST-registered entity. Such individuals are also required to complete appropriate GST registration. Documents required in such cases include the following:

• Photo of applicant
• Proof of qualifying degree
• Proof of designation of post held at time of retirement (this is applicable for retired Government Officials only) and accepted document is pension certificate used by AG office or LPC
• Proof of professional addess like consent letter, electricity bill, property tax receipt, rent/lease agreement, legal ownership document, etc.

A tax deductor under GST is an entity or person responsible for deducting the due tax at the time of payment i.e. at source and depositing the tax with the authorities. In the case of e-commerce companies, tax needs to be collected at source at a specified rate and submitted with the tax authorities. In this case, the e-commerce company acts as tax collector at source and needs to register under applicable GST rules. A tax deductor/tax collector at source need to provide the below documents when submitting a GST registration application:

• Photo of Drawing and Disbursing Officer
• Photo of authorised signatory
• Proof of appointment of authorised signatory like letter of authorisation or copy of resolution passed by Board of Directors/Managing Committee along with Acceptance Letter
• Proof of principal place of business like consent letter, electricity bill, Municipal Khata Copy, legal ownership document, etc.

For tax purposes, a non-resident is an Indian citizen who is currently residing outside of India. However such individuals can have business income in India that is eligible for taxation under GST rules. In such cases following documents are required for GST registration:

• Photo of authorised signatory
• Proof of Appointment of authorised signatory like letter of authorisation
• Proof of principal place of business like electricity bill, property tax receipt, legal ownership document or municipal khata book

A non-resident who is engaged in providing services and deriving income through online platform is also required to complete Goods and Services Tax registration. Documents required for GST registration by a non-resident online services provider are as follows:

• Photo of authorised signatory
• Proof of Appointment of authorised signatory like letter of authorisation
• Proof of non-resident online services like clearance certificate issued by Governmentof India, Certificate of incorporation of company registered in India/abroad, license issued by origin country, etc.

Since the entire process of registering under GST and getting a GST Number is online, you have to upload digital copies of applicable documents on the GST portal. Some other factors to consider when uploading the documents required for GST registration include:

• Check list on Official Website: The complete list of documents that you have to upload on the GST portal is available on the official website. It is good practice to go through this checklist prior to starting the registration process.
• File size: The maximum file size that you can upload for each digital document varies to some extent and is mentioned on the official GST portal. For instance the maximum file size allowed for photo of authorized signatory is 100 KB, while for legal ownership document the maximum file size allowed is 1.024 MB. Do check the file size that is allowed when uploading documents for GST registration.
• Document Format: Currently the GST Portal supports either JPG format or PDF format for various types of documents like letter of authorization, certificate of authorization, electricity bill, Lease/Rent agreement, etc. while photographs can be uploaded in JPG format only.