GST Certificate Download: How to Download GST Registration Certificate From GST Portal?

Ever noticed GST certificate displayed in any establishment/ even a local supermarket? A GST registration certificate is issued by the government as a valid document proof of being registered under the GST law in India. Any business in India whose turnover exceeds the threshold limit for GST registration (Rs.40 lakh or Rs.20 lakh for special category states) or otherwise mandated, must get registered under GST and display GST registration certificate. Know from this article meaning of GST certificate, how to download GST certificate online and alternate methods to access it. 

Watch the video to know the steps of downloading GST registration certificate-

What is a GST Registration Certificate?

Every taxpayer who has successfully registered under GST is issued a GST registration certificate in Form GST REG-06. It contains the GST Identification Number (GSTIN), the principal and additional places of business. The registration certificate is available for downloading only on the GST Portal, and the government does not issue any physical certificate. 

The type of taxpayers includes regular, TDS and TCS applicants under GST, those who are liable to obtain unique Identity Number under Section 25(9) of the CGST Act, non-residents including those that are providing OIDAR services, and the taxpayers who migrated from the pre-GST laws. The certificate is signed or verified using EVC by the verifying tax officer before sending it to the taxpayer.

Why Do You Need a GST Certificate?

The taxpayer is required to display this certificate at his primary place of business, as well as other additional places of business listed in the Form GST REG-06. It is laid down in CGST Rule 18(1) and any failure can attract a penalty of up to Rs.25,000.

Whenever there is any amendment to the GST registration particulars, the GST portal allows the taxpayer or user to download the fresh GST registration certificate with the amended particulars.

Step-by-Step Guide to Download GST Certificate from GST Portal

Any eligible person can apply for GST registration on the GST portal, by visiting www.gst.gov.in on the web browser. After the due verification of application by the proper officer, the registration shall be approved. The registration will be effective from the date when liability for registration arises, in case the application was submitted within 30 days from that date. However, if the submission was delayed, then the GST registration is valid from the date of grant of registration.

There may be a scenario where bank account details are being submitted later on. In no case, they must submit within earlier of two dates, i.e., 45 days from the date of grant of registration or the due date of filing the return in form GSTR-3B.

For a detailed step-by-step process of obtaining the GST registration or GSTIN, read our article on ‘How to register for GST?’.

Validity Period of the GST Registration Certificate

The GST registration certificate is valid from the date when the person became liable to GST registration if they submitted the registration application within thirty days from such liable date. If not, then validity begins from the date of granting the certificate under the CGST Rules 9(1), 9(3) and 9(5). 

If an application falls under cases of delay by the officer under the CGST Rule 9(5), then the officer must send the signed registration certificate within three working days from the period given under the same subrule.

The certificate does not have any time limit for expiry if issued to all the regular taxpayers. As long as the GST registration is valid and not surrendered or cancelled, it remains valid. For a casual taxable person, since the GST registration remains valid for a maximum of ninety days, the registration certificate turns invalid after that. However, the taxpayer can extend its validity or renew by the end of the validity period.

Contents of a GST Registration Certificate

The GST registration certificate contains the main certificate along with two annexures- Annexure- A and Annexure-B. Following are the contents of the main GST registration certificate:

• The GSTIN of the taxpayer
• Trade Name and Legal Name
• Type of Business Constitution (Eg: Partnership, Company, Proprietorship, Trust, etc)
• Address of the Principal Place of Business
• Date of Liability
• Period of Validity. Usually, there is a date mentioned for ‘From date’. However, regular taxpayers will not have a date mentioned for ‘To date’. That would be found in cases of casual taxable persons or non-resident taxable persons.
• Type of registration
• Particulars of the Approving authority- Name, designation, jurisdictional office, and signature (usually digitally signed).
• Date of issuing the certificate

The details found in Annexure-A are as follows-

• The GSTIN
• The Legal Name
• The Trade Name (if found)
• Additional Places of Business 

The details found in Annexure-B are as follows-

• The GSTIN
• The Legal Name
• The Trade Name (if applicable)
• Information of proprietor, partners, Karta, managing and whole-time director, the board of trustees, etc. such as photo, name, designation or status and a resident of which State.

Sample GST Registration Certificate

‘Annexure A’ contains the list of any additional places of business, if declared at the time of GST registration.

‘Annexure B’ contains the list of persons-in-charge for the taxpayer along with their name, designation, State of residence and photograph. The list may have proprietor or partners or Karta or Managing Director and whole-time Directors or Members of the Managing Committee of Association of Persons or the Board of Trustees, etc.

How to Amend GST Registration?

To make changes in the details of GST registration certificate, you must identify if the field is core or non-core. Accordingly, login to the GST portal and go to Services > Registration > Amendment of Registration Core Fields or Amendment of Registration Core Fields, respectively. Add, delete or edit details. Upload the supporting documents wherever asked for. Save and complete verification through the authorised signatory using DSC, e-Signature or EVC. For more details, read our page on the step-by-step process to make amendments in GST registration.

What changes in GST Registration can be made?

One can change certain core and non-core fields in the GST registration details. Any update in core field requires tax official's verification and approval unlike the non-core fields change.

Core fields can be business name, (Legal Name) if there is no change in PAN, principal and additional places of business (other than any change in the State), addition or deletion of stakeholders such as promoters or partners or Karta or Managing Committee or CEO. 

Whereas, the non-core fields can include the rest of the fields other than core fields such as addition or deletion or modification of bank details, business details, description of goods and services, editing state-specific information (Not being any change of State), authorised signatories or representatives, modifying details of existing stakeholders such as promoters or partners or Karta and minor modifications in existing principal and additional places of business.

How to Download GST Registration Certificate from GST Portal

If you are an existing registered taxpayer, you may also download the certificate in Form GST REG-06 from the GST portal. It is available for download, only on the GST portal, and note that the government does not issue any physical certificate.

Here is a step-by-step process to download GST Registration Certificate in Form GST REG-06:

Step 1 – Login to GST Portal.

 Step 2 – Go to ‘Services’ > ‘User Services’ > ‘View/ Download Certificate.

Step 3 – Click on the ‘Download’ icon.

Step 4 – Open the downloaded PDF document and take a printout.  

Step 5 – Display the printed certificate prominently at all your places of business in the State or UT.

Team Clear helps you in obtaining the GST registration certificate without any hassles in the shortest possible time. Explore our GST registration service by clicking on the link here.

Exploring Alternate Methods for GST Certificate Download

GST portal is the primary source for downloading GST certificate. However, there are multiple other sources to get your GST certificate. These are as follows-

1. Authorised GST service providers

Third-party service providers authorised by the GST Network offer services to download the GST certificate. 

Go to the service provider's website and register/log in to your account.

Give the necessary details such as GSTIN or business name.

Follow the steps it throws to initiate the GST certificate download.

The service provider will be able to access your GST certificate and provide you the same.

There could be additional costs/security risks involved but useful for businesses that outsource their compliance responsibilities.

2. Mobile app

Authorised service providers allow its users to download GST certificate on their mobile application. Steps are as follows-

Download and install the mobile app.

Log in to the mobile app and navigate to the ‘Certificate’ section and click on download button. 

The GST registration certificate gets downloaded and saved on your mobile phone for further use/sharing.

The only drawback one may experience with the mobile application is compatibility issues and varying functionalities in different phones.

3.  Offline/physical GST registration certificate

Many taxpayers, especially small taxpayers, seek physical copy of the GST registration certificate from the jurisdictional GST office. Steps to obtain GST certificate copy is as follows-

Visit the jurisdictional GST office and provide a written request with supporting documents.

Give the necessary details such as the GSTIN and business information.

After the due verification, the GST office issues a physical copy of the GST registration certificate to the authorised person.

GST Certificate Download: Common Challenges and Fixes

Sometimes, taxpayers may not be able to access the GST certificate on the GST portal due to issues. Below are some of the popular issues and resolutions while taxpayer tries to download the GST registration certificate.

1. Forgotten login credentials- In case you forgot the username and password, recover by going to the login page, clicking on ‘Forgot Username or Forgot Password’. Complete verification and retrieve username/reset password to continue using GST portal for downloading GST certificate.

2. Invalid or wrong GSTIN- Sometimes, users enter the wrong GSTIN for downloading the certificate by oversight. Ensure GSTIN is correctly entered to download the GST registration certificate.

3. Technical errors- Technical issues/downtime are commonly faced by taxpayers. The GSTN advises taxpayers to try after sometime or reach out to the helpdesk.

GST Certificate for Different Business Types

Mostly all kinds of details shown on a GST certificate remain the same across different taxpayers. However, taxpayers might have certain unique details depending on their taxpayer type, elaborated as follows-

Regular or normal taxpayers- Most basic details pertaining to registration are given in the GST registration certificate. It allows them to claim input tax credit.

Composition taxable persons- Small businesses who have registered themselves under the composition scheme for the year should keep the GST registration certificate and display upfront. It indicates clearly that they are composition taxpayers and need no collect GST from customers or claim input tax credit.

Casual taxable persons- Whenever taxpayer wants to carry out taxable supplies occassionally or temporarily such as exhibitions, they can register as casual taxable persons. They also need GST registration certificate which can be obtained on the GST portal.

Non-resident taxable persons- Non-resident entities temporarily running business in India must obtain GST registration and need to have GSTIN details displayed prominently at the office. Hence, they should obtain GST registration certificate which will have the place of business details.

GST Certificate for Exporters

As an exporter, GST registration certificate contains details of goods and services exported. It is critical that businesses into exports have the GST certificate displayed prominently in their premise. The GST certificate will indicate that they are exempt from IGST and/or can claim refund of accumulated ITC.

For further reading, check out our articles-

• All about the GST identification number
• How to cancel GST registration?
• How to issue GST-compliant invoices
• All about GST return filing