Goods & Services Tax ( GST ): An Overview Goods and Services Tax is a consolidated indirect tax policy that encompasses VAT, CST, Service Tax, Central Excise duty, Entertainment Tax, etc and is valid all over India with effect from 1st July 2017. The taxable person under GST A 'taxable person under the GST Act is someone who conducts business in India and is registered or needs to be registered under the GST Act. A taxable person can be an individual, HUF, company, firm, LLP, an AOP/ BOI, any corporation or Government company, body corporate incorporated under the laws of a foreign country, cooperative societies, local authorities, governments, trusts, or artificial juridical persons. GST Registration Turnover Limit GST registration can be obtained voluntarily by any person or entity irrespective of turnover. GST registration becomes mandatory if a person or entity sells goods or services beyond a certain turnover. Service Providers: Any person or entity who provides service of more than Rs.20 lakhs in aggregate turnover in a year is required to obtain GST registration. In special category states, the GST turnover limit for service providers has been fixed at Rs.10 lakhs. Goods Suppliers: As per notification No.10/2019, any person who is engaged in the exclusive supply of goods whose aggregate turnover crosses Rs.40 lakhs in a year is required to obtain GST registration. To be eligible for the Rs.40 lakhs turnover limit, the supplier must satisfy the following conditions: - Should not be providing any services. - The supplier should not be engaged in making intra-state (supplying goods within the same state) delivers in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, Telangana, TripuraADDRESS and Uttarakhand. - Should not be involved in the supply of ice cream, pan masala or tobacco. If the above conditions are not met, the supplier of goods would be required to obtain GST registration when the turnover crosses Rs.20 lakhs and Rs.10 lakhs in special category states. Documents Required Individual / Sole Proprietor - PAN Card - Aadhaar Card - Photograph - Address proof - Bank account details LLP and Partnership Firms - PAN CARD of all Partners - Copy of Partnership Deed / Agreement. - Photograph of all Partners and Authorised signatories. - All Partner and Authorised signatory Aadhaar Card - Proof of appointment of authorised signatory - In the case of LLP, Registration Certificate / Board Resolution of LLP - Bank Account Details - Address Proof of Principal Place of Business. Private and Public Companies (Indian and Foreign) - Company's PAN Card - Article of Association / Memorandum of Association - Address Proof and PAN cards of all the company's directors - Certificate of Incorporation - Authorised signatory's PAN card and Aadhaar card. Even if a foreign company/branch is registered the authorised signatory has to be Indian. - Photograph of all Directors and Authorised signatory - Board resolution appointing authorised signatory / Any other appointment proof of an authorised signatory - Address Proof of the primary business location - Bank account information Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) - PAN card - Karta's PAN card and Aadhar card - Address proof of primary business location - Bank Account Details - Photograph Penalty for Not Registering or Late Registering under GST If you have not registered for GST and are deliberately trying to evade tax, the penalty levied is 100% of the due tax amount. If you do not pay tax or pay a lesser amount than what is due, the penalty levied is 10% of the due amount ( in case of genuine errors ). However, the minimum penalty is Rs. 10,000.