How to Register as a GST Practitioner?

GST practitioners are important persons under GST who assist and facilitate compliance under the GST system. Before a person can begin journey as a GST practitioner, he must be registered or authorised by the GST portal and GST Network (GSTN) to practice and provide GST compliance related services.

Section 48 of the CGST Act provides for the eligibility, conditions and the procedure for a person to be a registered GST practitioner. A registered business can authorise the GST practitioner to file returns on his behalf.

Once the GST practitioner enrols with the GST system, the taxpayers can send a request to engage the particular person as their practitioner. In turn, the practitioner can either accept or reject the request of the taxpayer. 

Recent Updates for GST Practitioners

31st December 2020
A person registered as a GST Practitioner can now file an application for cancellation of their Registration, in Form GST PCT-06.

Basic Conditions for Becoming a GST Practitioner

These are the conditions required for becoming a GST practitioner: 

• They should be a citizen of India 
• They should be of sound mind 
• They should not be adjudged as an insolvent 
• They should be not be convicted of an offense with imprisonment of two years or more

Qualifications for Becoming a GST Practitioner

The following people can become GST practitioners: 

• A retired officer of the Commercial Tax Department of any State Government or of the CBIC who has worked in a post of Group-B (or higher) gazetted officer for a minimum period of two years 
• A Tax Return Preparer or a Sales Tax Practitioner registered for a period of not less than 5 years 
• A graduate or postgraduate in Commerce, Law, Banking including Higher Auditing, or Business Administration or Business Management from any Indian University or a recognised Foreign University 
• Advocate
• A Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant or a Company Secretary holding Certificate of Practice (COP)

Duties of a GST Practitioner

A GST practitioner will fulfill the following duties on behalf of their clients that pertains to viewing, creating and saving: 

• Application for amendment/cancellation/revocation of cancellation of GST registration (after confirmation from registered person) 
• Application for opting into or withdrawal from the composition levy
• View the electronic cash, liability and credit ledgers
• GSTR 1, GSTR-3B, CMP-08, ITC-04 and various other returns and ITC forms
• GSTR 9 and GSTR 4
• Create challan and deposit cash into the electronic cash ledger 
• A claim for refund in form RFD-11 (after confirmation from registered person) 
• View and create applications on Advance Rulings, DRC-03, and LUT
• Viewing GST notices
• Appear as an authorised representative

GST practitioners cannot submit any application on behalf of taxpayers. GST practitioners can save the application but filing the application has to be done only by the taxpayer.

Process of Registering as a GST Practitioner

Step 1 – Visit the GST portal at www.gst.gov.in

Step 2 – Go to Services > Registration tab. Click on ‘New Registration’.

The page for new registration appears.

Step 3 – On the ‘New Registration’ page,

• Click on “New Registration”
• In the ‘I am a’ dropdown, select as “GST Practitioner”
• Select the State and District from the dropdown
• Enter Name, PAN, Email Address and Mobile Number
• Enter the captcha code
• Click on ‘Proceed’

After validation, you will be redirected to OTP verification page

Step 4 – Enter the two different OTPs received on email and mobile number. Click on ‘Proceed’

Step 5 – This will generate a TRN. Click on ‘Proceed’

Step 6 – Enter TRN and Captcha. Click on ‘Proceed’

Step 7 – Enter the OTP received on the registered mobile number and click on ‘Proceed’

Step 8 – Enter all the details required by this part and upload documents in .pdf and .jpeg format. Click on ‘Submit’ in the Verification page.

Applicant Details

a) Select date of birth and enter first, middle, and last name (first name is mandatory).

b) Select gender, other details and upload photograph in JPEG format (file size should not exceed 100 KB)

c) Once details are entered and the photograph is uploaded, click on the ‘Save and continue’ button to move on to the next section.

Professional Address

a) Enter the address with the relevant pincode. The respective State and District will be auto populated from PART-A of the form.

b) Select the appropriate professional address proof from the dropdown menu.

c) Upload the chosen proof of professional address in JPEG or PDF format with a file size not more than 1 MB.

d) Once all the details are filled in and the document is uploaded, click on the ‘Save and continue’ to go to the final section.

Verification page

a) Select the checkbox with the verification statement and enter the place.

b) Choose to submit the application using DSC, e-Signature or EVC. For e-Signature, update Aadhaar number in the Applicant Details section.

There are 2 ways the application can be submitted:

• DSC – Submit the application using the DSC token. Make sure emSigner (from eMudra) is installed on your laptop and the DSC is registered on the website
• EVC and e-Signature – You will receive 2 OTPs, one on the Aadhaar-linked mobile number and the other on the e-mail ID. Enter the OPTs and submit the application

Once the application is submitted a success message will be displayed. The applicant will receive an acknowledgment on your registered email ID within 15 minutes. This will complete your process to register as a GST Practitioner.

Steps for accepting or rejecting to act as a GST practitioner 

Step 1 – Login to the GST portal as a GST practitioner

Step 2 – Click on the button ‘Accept/ reject taxpayer’ available on the dashboard or by navigating to Services > User Services > Accept / Reject Taxpayer option.

Step 3 –  Click on the ‘View’ link against the engagement request that needs to be approved or rejected.

Step 4 – Either Accept or Reject the engagement request as follows:

(1) To Accept: Select the consent box and click on ‘Submit with DSC or EVC’ button to complete the process.

(2) To reject: Without checking the consent box, click on the ‘Reject’ button to complete the process.

Email is sent to the GST practitioner and the respective taxpayer.

To know further about eligibility of GST practitioner, read our article:

• A complete guide on GST Practitioner Exams