WHAT IS A GST BILL?
 GST or Goods and Service Tax is a bill that is recently introduced in the  parliament that will take effect in April 2017. The GST Bill was passed in the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016.
“The Goods and Service Tax (proposed to replace Value Added Tax or VAT) is a uniform indirect tax levied by the State and Central Government on consumption, manufacture and sale of services and goods in India. “
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WHO ARE REQUIRED TO REGISTER FOR GST?
Any individual who is registered to pay excise, service tax, value added tax, etc. (State or Central levied tax) should register for GST as early as possible.
Any taxpayer that pays any of the following taxes to the respective authorities will be required to enroll for GST:
- Value Added Tax VAT ,Sales Tax (except on liquor dealers)
- Service Tax
- Luxury Tax
- Central Excise Tax
- Entertainment Tax
- Entry Tax
As we make a shift from our current taxation system to the proposed unified GST system, it is essential to understand the requisites for registration, how to register for GST and the last date for enrollment.
LAST DATE OF ENROLLMENT FOR GST:
The following list states a State wise breakup for the permitted date/s of enrollment:
| Sr. | States | Start Date | End Date |
| 1 | Pondicherry, Sikkim | 08/11/2016 | 23/11/2016 |
| 2 | Gujrat, Maharashtra, Goa, Daman and Diu, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Chhattisgarh | 14/11/2016 | 29/11/2016 |
| 3 | Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram | 30/11/2016 | 15/12/2016 |
| 4 | Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan | 16/12/2016 | 31/12/2016 |
| 5 | Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh | 01/01/2017 | 15/01/2017 |
| 6 | Service Tax Registrants | 01/01/2017 | 31/01/2017 |
| 7 | Delta All Registrants (For All Groups) | 01/02/2017 | 20/03/2017 |
| 8 | All Union Territories (except Delhi and Pondicherry) | NA | NA |
BEFORE REGISTERING FOR GST, SOME PREREQUISITIES TO BE FULLFILLED:
Some of the prerequisites to be completed prior to online GST registration  and they are as follows:
- Provisional ID and Password
The tax officer provides a unique provisional ID and password generated directly by the Income Tax Department to the individual. This provisional ID and password are used to log into the GST portal. For more information, contact your Ward Officer for pre-registration.
- Documents Required
The documents required to enroll for GST are:
- A personal email address
- A bank account number along with the IFSC code
- Details of the bank account such as a picture of the bank statement or passbook that contains the name and account number of the account holder, the bank and branch details, etc. (the maximum size of the image shall not exceed 1MB)
- Based on the business entity, an electronic proof of business document (such as LLP Agreement, registration certificate, partnership deed, etc.) is required to be uploaded in PDF or JPEG format
- Individual Photographs of the partners in a JPEG file. (The maximum size of the file should be not more than 100kb)
PROCEDURE FOR REGISTARTION OF GST:
Enrollment Under the GST Portal System
- Username and Password:
An individual must create the Login ID and password on the GST Website by using the provisional ID and password. A user must agree to the terms and conditions before proceeding.
- Login:
At the login page, a user must provide the provisional ID that will be sent by SMS, mail, etc. from the Income Tax Department. Additionally, a captcha image would be used for additional verification.
- Verification of Credentials
Post login, an ID verification page must be filled. Here an individual will be required to fill out a valid phone number and email address. An OTP will be generated on (both) the entered/registered email ID and phone number. This verification will be permanent and any changes that need to be made to phone number or email ID can happen only after April 2017.
- Answer 5 Security Questions:
Post OTP verification, a new password can be set. An individual will be required to mandatorily fill out a list of 5 security questions for additional security and password retrieval purposes.
- Enrollment Application:
The enrollment application termed as the ‘Provisional ID Enrollment’ will be on the dashboard of the welcome page. This application contains 8 slabs that indicate bank account details, verification, goods and services, principal and additional place of business, promoters/partners, business details and authorized signatory. All the details mentioned in the prerequisites such as photographs, account number, etc. need to be filled out in this section as and when applicable.
- Signature
Once all the details are submitted, an individual will be required to verify those details one last time and affix his digital signature on the application in the form of a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) or Aadhaar based eSign.
Following signing and sending the application, the applicant will receive an acknowledgment (of application) and Application Receipt Number (ARN) for further application queries within 15 minutes of Submission.
