Revenue Secretary Adhia chairs first 'GST Master Class'

Revenue Secretary Dr. Hasmukh Adhia on Thursday chaired the first Goods and Services Tax (GST) Master Class, a series of sessions aiming to assist taxpayers and traders adapt better to the new tax regime.

Addressing an array of topics, Adhia flagged off the first session clarifying the most commonly misunderstood norm of the GST, the query of which state to register from in case of inter-state trade.

"There has been confusion regarding inter-state trade. I would like to clarify that registration has to be done from the state where the goods are being sent from, not the state that is receiving the goods," he said.

With regards to reverse taxation, Adhia clarified that in case of transport aggregators like Uber, Ola and so on, registration needs to be done by the company, and not by the taxi drivers individually. Also, electronic commerce operators will also have to register themselves.

However, agriculturalists and those dealing with the sale of items exempted from the GST are not obligated to register, Adhia clarified.

Stressing on the importance of registration, Adhia asserted that the process can be done only using a PAN card, adding that only one registration number will be provided against a PAN card.

"The registration rule of one number per pan card is not applicable in two cases. One, if the business has multiple verticals. Two, if the operations are domestic and in Special Economic Zones (SEZ). Any modification of a business such as its name, address of business, addition or deletion of partners can be modified only by tax authorities," he said.

The registration entails two parts. By completing the first part, consumers will receive a provisional certificate, using which users will have to generate permanent registration by filing details of the place, nature of business and so on.

All registration is required to be processed through the GST portal. To start the registration, a taxpayer must first create a User ID and password, fill Part B of GSTR REG 26 and attach relevant documents. The provisional ID also can be used as the GST identification number.

The panel notified that over 67 lakh people have generated their provisional ID, out of which 30 lakh have completed Part B as well, and are now eligible for permanent registration.

Responding to queries on eligibility to avail a registration certificate, the panel notified that once the tax authorities have assessed the relevant documents, the certificate will be issues within three working days. In case of any missing document or query, the taxpayer will be notified by the concerned officer, for which the reply has to be sent within seven working days.

The panel also clarified that the registration process is free of charge, unless it is being done by a tax consultant, who will charge a service fee.