Applying for GSTIN? Be prepared for physical verification

Small entrepreneurs, who have entered the fray in the last eight weeks or so, and been trying for Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration, say they have been unable to do it online.

Admitting to the difficulty, an auditor-cum-GST practitioner said the process was smooth till end-September ― once registered on the common portal, approval for grant of registration was issued to the applicant within three working days, but now, under the pretext of physical verification, officials were delaying the registration process.

Also read: CBIC asks for physical verification of biz granted deemed GST registration between Aug 21-Nov 16

Inspector Raj seems to be back

While a set of norms brought out by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) suggest that businesses seeking GST registration without Aadhaar authentication would have to undergo physical verification of their premises, it is learnt that officials were seeking extra documents and making the process cumbersome.

“I ventured into this business with great enthusiasm, but there is some hurdle or other at every stage. The bank is seeking the GST registration number for opening a current account. I’ve just started, so my annual turnover would not be anywhere near the minimum permissible limit, at least during the first year. Again, food aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato are asking for GSTIN,” said this young entrepreneur, preferring anonymity.

Also read: GST fake invoice menace: CBIC issues SOPs for tax officers

Yet another said that though he had linked his Aadhaar and PAN, followed by the receipt of an OTP, there was delay. “On enquiry, we realised that the same was not reflected on the portal. So, officials came for physical verification, sought more details and said that if I failed to submit the document copy within the next two to three days, I would have to start the registration process all over again.”

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the new procedure for granting GST registration is part of a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)