In a bid to limit undue harassment of taxpayers, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has issued revised instructions for its officers for the process of Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration. This comes amid a series of complaints raised by applicants in recent days about the need for submission of several documents and clarifications to GST officers at the time of their registration applications such as proof of principal place of business, constitution of business, identity details of authorised signatory, owner etc. The CBIC pointed out that various unwarranted documents are being sought by raising presumptive queries. Officers have been directed not to issue notices based on presumptive grounds, minor discrepancies, or for additional documents that are not essential for processing applications. The Board has also provided an e-mail id (gst-cbec@gov.in) to raise any concerns about difficulties in implementation of these revised instructions. The reason for revised guidelines The CBIC pointed out that there are varied processes being followed for verification of documents for GST registration by the officers at present and clarifications are being sought from taxpayers that are avoidable. “While on one hand, there is a need to prevent registration of fraudulent firms created for passing on input tax credit (ITC) without any underlying supply, on the other hand, there is a need to ensure that genuine applicants seeking registration are not unduly harassed. It is noted that varied practices are being followed by the officers in respect of verification of documents and details provided in FORM GST REG-01. It has also been observed that while processing the application, avoidable clarifications are being sought by the officers leading to delay in getting registration as well as rejection of applications,” the GST Policy Wing of CBIC said in the instructions dated April 17. This new set of instructions will replace the earlier guidelines for processing of applications for registrations issued on June 14, 2023. The CBIC said some of the common queries raised are that residential address of the applicant/managing director/authorised signatory is not in the same city or the state where the registration has been sought; HSN code of goods mentioned by the applicant in registration application is banned or prohibited for sale in the state where the applicant wishes to conduct business; the kind of activities mentioned in the registration application can not be conducted from the particular premises etc. "Officers handling registration applications should not ask any presumptive query which is not related to the documents or information submitted by the applicant,” it said. New set of instructions The CBIC has enlisted documents to be sought from applicants while processing applications for registrations. For principal place of business: 1. In case of owned premises, the applicant has to upload any one document out of property tax receipt or municipal khata copy or electricity bill of the owner. The CBIC has directed its field officers to not raise any query seeking original physical copy of the documents while processing the registration application of the applicant. 2. For rented premises, the applicant has to upload a valid rent/lease agreement along with any one of the documents — property tax receipt or municipal khata copy or copy of electricity bill — to establish the ownership of the premise by the lessor. The CBIC noted that additional documents of the lessor are being sought by the field formations such as PAN card, Aadhaar, photograph, which should not be required now. 3. In case where rent/lease agreement is not registered, then agreement along with any one of the documents mentioned in the above list and a copy of the identity proof of the lessor will be sufficient. 4. In case where rent/lease agreement is registered, agreement along with any one of the documents mentioned in the above list will suffice and no identity proof of the lessor will be sought. In case the electricity or water connection is in the name of the applicant tenant,the document of the same along with the rent agreement will be accepted as a valid proof and no additional documents pertaining to the lessor will be sought. 5. Where the ownership of premises is with spouse, relative etc., a consent letter in plain paper by the concerned owner of the premises along with a copy of the identity proof of the person granting consent along with any one of the documents (property tax receipt or municipal khata copy or copy of electricity bill) will suffice. Or similar documents such as water bill or any document prescribed under the state or the local laws which clearly establishes the ownership of the premises by the consenter will suffice and no additional documents from the applicant will be sought. The CBIC also relaxed the conditions for the registration process with respect to the constitution of business. Where the applicant is one of the partners, partnership deed for the proof of constitution of business is required to be uploaded by the applicant. No additional document like Udhyam certificate, MSME certificate, shop establishment certificate, trade license etc. will be sought from the applicant. Where the applicant is society, trust, club, government department, association of persons or body of individuals, local authority, statutory body and others etc., registration certificate/proof of constitution is required to be uploaded by the applicant. Timeline for registration The CBIC said cases where the applications have not been flagged as risky on the common portal based on data analysis and risk parameters, and the same are found to be complete and without any deficiency, the officers will approve the application within 7 working days of submission of application. For applications that are flagged as risky after Aadhaar authentication, or the applicant does not undergo or opt for Aadhaar authentication, the registration will be granted within 30 days submission of application after physical verification of the place of business. In cases where physical verification has to be carried out, the concerned officer must ensure that the physical verification report along with the other documents, including photographs, is uploaded on the system in at least five days prior to the expiry of the time period of 30 days from the date of submission of application. If any document apart from the listed documents is required to be sought, the officer shall seek the same only after the approval of the concerned deputy/assistant commissioner. However, the CBIC warned that no application for registration should be approved on a deemed basis only for meeting the requirement of timely action on the part of tax officers.. “The officer shall also ensure that no documents in addition to those as mentioned above and no clarification/information/documents on the basis of presumptive grounds shall be sought from the applicant. Further, the officer shall also ensure that queries are not raised for minor deficiencies which are not relevant for establishing proof of place of business or constitution of business etc,” it added. The CBIC has instructed Chief Commissioners to closely supervise the status of processing of the applications of registration, including physical verifications, nature of queries being raised, deemed registrations etc. through periodic review within their zones. It also said that strict action may be taken against the officer deviating from these instructions.
