GST registration: the documents actually required

Whatever your constitution, four things are always required: the PAN of the business, proof of the principal place of business, bank account details, and identity and address proof with a photograph for the authorised signatory.

Applications are made in Form GST REG-01 on the GST portal. Part A generates a temporary reference number against your PAN, mobile and email; Part B is where the documents go.

Companies and LLPs must also sign the application with a Class 3 digital signature. Proprietors and partnerships can use electronic verification instead.

This is the single largest source of REG-03 queries. What is accepted depends on how you hold the premises:

• Owned — latest property tax receipt, electricity bill, or municipal khata copy.
• Rented or leased — the rent agreement plus a utility bill in the owner’s name. The agreement alone is not enough.
• Consent or shared premises — a consent letter or no-objection certificate from the owner, with their ownership proof and a utility bill.
• Co-working space — the agreement with the operator, their no-objection certificate, and a utility bill for the building.

The utility bill should generally not be older than two months, and the address on it must match the address entered on the application exactly — including the door number and locality spelling. A mismatch between the bill and the form is the most common single reason for a query.

Bank account details are not required to submit the application. They must be furnished within 45 days of registration, or before filing the first return, whichever is earlier. A cancelled cheque, bank statement or the first page of the passbook showing the name, account number and IFSC is accepted.

The account must be in the name of the registered business. A proprietor’s personal account is acceptable for a proprietorship, but a company cannot use a director’s account.

Where the authorised signatory and one promoter complete Aadhaar authentication, registration is typically granted within about seven working days. Where authentication is not done, or where the application is flagged for risk, physical verification of the premises follows and the timeline extends to roughly thirty days.

Choosing to skip Aadhaar authentication to save a step is a false economy — it converts a one-week process into a one-month one with a site visit.

Address mismatch. The utility bill, the rent agreement and the form must all show the same address in the same form. Officers compare them character by character.

Blurred or cropped photographs. The signatory’s photograph must be clear, recent and show the full face. This sounds trivial and is a genuinely common rejection reason.

Wrong business activity. The HSN or SAC codes and the description of goods or services must be consistent with the trade name and the nature of premises. A software consultancy registering from a warehouse address will be asked about it.