GST is one law that has come as a revolution in the country. Not only has the law made it less burdensome for the taxpayers by introducing a GST rates list with a reasonable percentage of tax chargeable, but it has also eased out the compliances for the people with its online GST portal. The portal is a step towards Digital India, and you can use it for every purpose, be it registration, or payment, or return filing, or a certificate download.
Taking about certificate, there is one certificate that you must mandatorily have for compliance with the GST Framework. Here is what this certificate is.
Certificate of Registration
You need to take registration to create your identity as a taxpayer under the GST Act. And while the registration for the small taxpayers is voluntary, there are categories of persons for whom the registration is a must. The certificate of registration is proof that you have taken the registration under the Act. This certificate is what shows your identity as a taxpayer under the GST Act. So, you need to have this certificate with you; else, there will be absolutely no sense of taking the registration. The certificate, among other things, contains your GSTIN, which is your identification number under the Act.
Moreover, having this certificate is not that difficult too. Once you have taken a registration, you can easily download the certificate from the online GST portal. Here is a guide for you about how to download a GST certificate.
How You Can Download GST Certificate
Step 1: Go to the GST online portal and log in to it with your user id and password.
Step 2: On the “HomePage” click on the “Services” tab and then navigate to “User Services.”
Step 3: From the drop-down menu, click on the “View/Download Certificate.”
You will see a table showing you a file that contains your certificate. Click on the “Download” option.
Wait for the certificate to get downloaded to your system. You will find all the necessary details, such as the name of your business, your GSTIN, address, and date of registration mentioned on this certificate.
This certificate is extremely essential for your business, and you must download it at the first opportunity right after getting done with your GST registration procedure.
However, while downloading this certificate is very easy, there are strict requirements that you need to fulfill to get this certificate. And that requirement is the registration under the GST Act. For this registration, you need to have certain documents. And these documents vary from person to person, business to business. The documents that a sole proprietor will require shall not be the same as the documents that a company or LLP will require.
To give you an understanding, here we have compiled a checklist of all the documents you must have for getting registration under GST.
- If you are an individual running a sole proprietorship, you would need your Aadhar card, PAN card, address proof (the Aadhar card will do the work), details of bank account, and your photograph(passport size and in JPEG format).
- If you are a company, the list of documents required is quite big. You will need the company’s PAN, incorporation certificate, memorandum and articles of association of the company, the documents as required by a sole proprietor relating to all the directors of the company, a copy of the board resolution passed approving the registration, bank account details, and the address proof of the registered office of the company.
- In case you are a partnership firm, you ill require the partnership deed, the documents (as mentioned for a sole proprietor) of all the partners, bank account details, address proof, and a copy of the resolution passed in case of LLP.
- If you are a HUF, you will need exactly the same documents as required by the sole proprietor, but all of them must relate to the HUF. This means the Aadhar, the PAN, the address proof, the bank account details, all should be of the HUF. For the photograph, the Karta’s photo is taken since he is the face behind the HUF.
All these documents are important to get a registration. Talking more about these documents, for the address proof, you can also use your electricity bill, property tax receipt, or municipal khata copy. In case your premises are on a lease or rent, the rental agreement or the lease deed can also serve as an address proof. For providing your bank account details, you can use a JPEF format picture of a canceled cheque or an extract of your passbook or bank statement.
Now another interesting fact is that you need not make rounds to the GST office for the registration. You can have it just in a few simple clicks. But for that, you need to arrange the documents required in soft copies. Once that is done, applying for registration and getting the same is a matter of minutes.
You need to apply for the registration online through the GST online portal. There you can upload all your documents and complete your registration process.
While submitting the documents, you also need to make sure that every document you are giving is a genuine and factually correct document. Submitting false documents can lead you into serious troubles. So, make sure that you upload only the documents you are sure about.
Conclusion
GST registration is one very necessary step towards starting your journey as a taxpayer under the GST law, and you must fulfill this need at the earliest so that you can move on to your next need for GST certificate download, which is equally important. Without a GST certificate, you shall have no proof of registration, so have your certificate handy with you so that you never get into trouble. We have told you how to download the GST certificate, and the process is pretty simple. So have this necessary certificate with your business so that you can have valid business transactions.
