The GST, or Goods and Services Tax, is one of the era-changing tax schemes established in India, which consolidates various taxes into a single tax. The suppliers of goods or services should obtain the GST registration or both when the turnover earned by them during the year exceeds the threshold limit specified by the GST Act. And for this, the GST Law categorises the taxpayers as:
– Regular or Normal Tax Payers
– Composition Tax Payer
– Casual Tax Payer
– Non-Resident Taxpayer.
Once the assessee becomes liable to pay GST, he should take the registration under GST within a maximum of 30 days from the date on which such liability becomes applicable. And in the case of casual and non-resident taxable persons, the registration application can be done within 5 days of the commencement of business.
The GST Registration Certificate, which the GST Authority issues on successful registration, shall hold the following details:
– The GSTIN of the taxable person
– Trade Name or the Legal Name of the taxable person
– Business Constitution says proprietorship, company, LLP, or such other type
– Address of the premises or place of business of the entity
– Date on which liability arises
– Period of validity of the registration certificate in case of the casual and non-resident taxable person. It shall not be given in the case of normal taxpayers
– Type of registration obtained, say Casual or otherwise
– Particulars belonging to the Approving Authority of the GST, like Name, Designation, Jurisdiction, and also DSC.
The certificate of registration that is issued to the normal taxable person or the normal taxpayer does not hold any validity or expiry date and shall stay valid until and unless the taxpayer voluntarily cancels it for any reason.
But in the case of the casual and non-resident taxable person, there shall be a validity base for the certificate, and this point is the basis of the discussion of the given article.
Validity of GST Registration of Casual and Non-Resident Taxable Person
The registration of GST certificate, which is passed as the original certificate under GST for a casual taxable person or a non-resident taxable person shall be held valid for a period of 3 months or 90 days from the date of registration or for a period which the applicant mentioned in the registration form, whichever is earlier.
This period can be further extended for up to 3 months or 90 days by applying using Form GST REG-11.
Pre-requisites for Submitting Application for Extension
Prior to filing an application for the extension of the registration certificate, there are specific prerequisites that the applicant should meet, including:
– The applicant should be holding a valid GSTIN issued by the GST Authority, and this registration should be of the type of a casual or non-resident taxpayer.
– The application for the extension of the validity of the registration shall be made before the original certificate expires.
– The taxpayer should also make a proper deposit of the tax liability for the period of extension, and the same should be reflected in their electronic cash ledger.
– All the returns due in the name of the applicant shall be filed by him before the application for extension of validity of the certificate has been made.
Procedure for Extension of Validity of Registration Certificate
The following steps shall be followed by the casual taxable person and the non-resident taxable person for applying for an extension of the time limit or validity of the GST registration certificate held by the same:
- Log in to the GST portal and click on the ‘Services’ tab. Now choose ‘Application for Extension of Registration period by Casual/Non-Resident Taxable Person’ under the ‘Registration’.
- Now, the user will be led to the extension of the registration page, which features two additional tabs. This tab would include ‘Business Details’ and ‘Verification’ tabs.
- Under the ‘Business Details’ Tab, choose the extension period using the calendar given. Now also enter the turnover details, which include the estimated turnover and net tax liability that would arise for such period of extension.
- Now, click on the Generate Challan option so as to make payment of the tax liability in advance and deposit the same in the electronic cash ledger.
- Once the payment has been made, it will be reflected or displayed on the screen. After this click, the button named ‘Click and Continue’.
- Now go to the ‘Verification’ tab, where the verification and authentication should be done. Click on the Verification checkbox. Here, choose the name of the Authorized Signatory assigned and then authenticate using DSC (Digital Signature Certificate) or the EVC.
- Once authentication is completed using EVC OTP or DSC, a message indicating the successful submission of the application will be displayed on the screen.
- The status of the application can be tracked using the following: Services – Registration – Track Application Status.
It shall be further noted that the application for extension of validity can be submitted only once and cannot be renewed thereafter. This would require the Casual taxable person or the Non-Resident taxable person to take a new registration. Upon successful completion of the application for extending the registration validity, the system will automatically generate an ARN (Application Reference Number), which can then be used to track the application status and provide the extension of validity.
Thus, we can now conclude that the validity of the GST Registration Certificate shall not have any expiry date or validity period in the case of the normal taxpayer or the regular taxpayer. But in case the registration type of such taxpayer is Casual or Non-resident, then there shall be a validity period. And this validity period shall only be for 3 months or 90 days, for which a renewal application shall be made prior to the expiry date.
