Interested in a Career as a GST Practitioner? Here’s What you Need to Do!

A GST Practitioner is a tax professional authorised to prepare returns and conduct related tasks based on information provided by a taxable person. However, the ultimate legal responsibility for these filings rests with the taxpayer. GST Practitioners ( GSTPs ) must enrol with the Centre or State Authority. Chartered Accountants (CAs), Company Secretaries (CSs), Cost and Management Accountants (CMAs) holding a Certificate of Practice (COP), Advocates, Retired Government Officials, and Graduates are eligible to apply for registration. Additionally, GSTPs can serve as Authorized Representatives, representing taxpayers before tax authorities. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA The following professionals are eligible as GST practitioner : Chartered Accountant holding COP Company Secretary holding COP Cost and Management Accountant holding COP Advocate Graduate or Postgraduate degree in Commerce Graduate or Postgraduate degree in Banking Graduate or Postgraduate degree in Business Administration Graduate or Postgraduate degree in Business Management Degree examination of any recognized Foreign University Retired Government Officials Sales Tax Practitioner under existing law Tax Return Preparer under existing law PRE-CONDITIONS BEFORE ENROLMENT IN GST PORTAL AS PRACTITIONER Before enrolling on the GST Portal, a GST Practitioner must meet the following conditions: Valid PAN Card Valid mobile number Valid e-mail ID Professional address Must have the prescribed documents and information on all mandatory fields as required for Enrolment Must fulfill the eligibility criteria of a GST Practitioner. GST RETURNS FILING FOR CLIENT IF NOT REGISTERED The GST manual recommends registering as a GST practitioner before filing returns. However, there is no mandatory requirement preventing you from filing GST returns for your client if you are not registered. POST-SUBMISSION OF REGISTRATION APPLICATION Once you submit your Registration Application, it undergoes processing by a Tax Officer. Upon approval, your GSTP ID will be generated by the system, along with a temporary password for your first-time login. This information will be communicated to your registered email address. Additionally, your ARN status will be updated to 'Approved', and you will be able to access your Enrolment Certificate on the Dashboard of the GSTP for viewing, printing, and downloading. In the event of rejection, a Rejection Order will be generated and communicated to you. Your ARN status will be changed to 'Rejected', and you will receive an intimation of the rejection via email and SMS on your registered email address and mobile number, respectively. The Rejection Order will also be available on the Dashboard of the GSTP for viewing, printing, and downloading. DUTIES/ACTIVITIES OF A GST PRACTITIONER A goods and services tax practitioner can undertake any or all of the following activities on behalf of a registered person: (a) furnish details of outward and inward supplies (b) furnish monthly, quarterly, annual or final return (c) make deposit for credit into the electronic cash ledger (d) file a claim for refund and (e) file an application for amendment or cancellation of registration. However, it is stipulated that confirmation from a registered person must be obtained when a GST practitioner submits an application for a refund claim, or for amendment or cancellation of registration. Furthermore, a GST practitioner is permitted to act as an authorised representative before any officer of the department, Appellate Authority, or Appellate Tribunal, provided they have been authorised by the registered person. STEPS TO REGISTER AS A GST PRACTITIONER IN GST PORTAL Go to the https://www.gst.gov.in/ URL. The GST Home page is displayed. Click Services > Registration > New Registration option. PART A The New Registration page is displayed. Select the New Registration option. In the I am a drop down list, select the GST Practitioner as the type of taxpayer to be registered. In the State/UT and District drop down list, select the state for which registration is required and district. In the Name of the GST Practitioner (As mentioned in PAN) field, enter the legal name as mentioned in the PAN database. In the Permanent Account Number (PAN) field, enter PAN number. In the Email Address field, enter the email address of the Primary Authorised Signatory. In the Mobile Number field, enter the valid Indian mobile number of the Primary Authorised Signatory. In the Type the characters you see in the image below field, enter the captcha text. Click the PROCEED button. After successful validation, you will be directed to the OTP Verification page. In the Mobile OTP field, enter the OTP you received on your mobile number entered in PART-A of the form. OTP is valid only for 10 minutes. In the Email OTP field, enter the OTP you received on your email address entered in PART-A of the form. OTP is valid only for 10 minutes. Note: OTP sent to mobile number and email address are separate. In case OTP is invalid, try again by clicking the Click here to resend the OTP link. You will receive the OTP on your registered mobile number or email ID again. Enter both the newly received OTPs again. Click the PROCEED button. The system generated 15-digit Temporary Reference Number (TRN) is displayed. In the Temporary Reference Number (TRN) field, enter the TRN generated. In the Type the characters you see in the image below field, enter the captcha text. Click the PROCEED button. The Verify OTP page is displayed. You will receive the same Mobile OTP and Email OTP. These OTPs are different from the OTPs you received in the previous step. In the Mobile / Email OTP field, enter the OTP you received on your mobile number and email address. OTP is valid only for 10 minutes. The My Saved Application page is displayed. Under the Action column, click the Edit icon (icon in blue square with white pen). PART B PART-B of the form has four sections that must be filled sequentially. The first section is General Details. General Details: a) Under enrolment sought as, please select an option from the drop-down given. b) Enter the name of your University/Institute where you received your academic credentials. c) Select your year of passing from the dropdown menu. d) Enter the name of the Qualifying Degree for enrolment as a GST Practitioner e) Under Proof of Qualifying Degree for enrolment as a GST Practitioner, select the document type from the dropdown given. f) Upload the document in PDF or JPEG format only (file size must be less than 1 MB. g) Once you have filled in all the sections, click on SAVE AND CONTINUE to move to the next section. Applicant Details: a) Select your date of birth. b) Enter your first, middle, and last name (first name is mandatory). c) Select your gender. d) Enter all the details and upload your photograph. e) Upload your photograph in JPEG format (file size should not exceed 100 KB) f) Once you have entered all the details and uploaded the photograph, click SAVE AND CONTINUE to move on to the next section. Professional Address: a) Enter the address with the correct PIN Code. State and District will be auto populated from PART-A of the form. b) Select the appropriate proof of professional address from the dropdown menu. c) Upload the selected proof of professional address in JPEG or PDF format with a file size not exceeding 1 MB. d) Once all the details are entered and the document is successfully uploaded, click SAVE AND CONTINUE to go to the final section. Verification page: a) Check the check-box with the verification statement. b) Enter the place. c) You may now choose to submit the form using DSC, E-Signature or EVC. For E-Signature, you must update your Aadhaar number in the Applicant Details section) In Case of DSC: d) Click the SUBMIT WITH DSC button. Note: In case, your DSC is not registered, you will need to register DSC. Note: • Make sure your DSC dongle is inserted in your laptop/ desktop. • Make sure emSigner (from eMudra) is running on your laptop/ desktop with administrator permissions. To check if the emSigner is running on your laptop/ desktop, perform the following steps: 1. Click the item tray. 2. Double click the emSigner icon. 3. Click the Hide Service button to minimize the dialog box. 4. Select the certificate and click the SIGN button. 5. Enter the PIN (dongle password) for the attached DSC. Note: To view the details of your DSC, click the View Certificate button. In Case of E-Signature: d) Click the SUBMIT WITH E-SIGNATURE button. e) In the Please select Service Provider option, select the appropriate Service Provider. Note: C-DAC and NSDL are e-sign Service Providers (Both are free of cost). f) Select the checkbox for declaration. Note: OTP will be sent to your e-mail address and mobile phone number registered with Aadhaar. g) Click the CONTINUE button. In Case of EVC: d) Click the SUBMIT WITH EVC button. e) Enter the OTP sent to the email and mobile number of the Authorised Signatory registered at the GST Portal and click the VALIDATE OTP button. Upon successful submission, a confirmation message will appear. You can expect to receive an acknowledgment within the next 15 minutes via your registered email address and mobile phone number. Your Application Reference Number (ARN) receipt will be sent to both your email address and mobile phone number. Please note that once your application has been submitted, no further changes can be made. According to the inputs from the GST department, any CAs, CMAs, CSs holding COP, advocate, Graduate or Postgraduate degree in Banking, commerce or business administration ..etc can become a GST Practitioner. Single Enrolment shall be sufficient for practising on all India basis. No separate registrations are required for other States or Centre. However, you are free to apply for another registration in another state if you have a Professional Address in that state Support our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates

Interested in a Career as a GST Practitioner? Here’s What you Need to Do!

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