To collect tax and take advantage of input credit, each business enterprise must receive a special number under the GST Act. Hence, the CGST Act 2017 makes it compulsory for the following individuals to enroll under GST and acquire GSTIN.

Companies or persons with a cumulative turnover of 20 lakh rupees and more for service providers.
Individuals or companies with an annual turnover in excess of Rs. 20 lakhs for the manufacture of commodities in the northeastern states.
Individuals or companies with gross revenue of 40 lakh rupees and more for the manufacturing of products.

In addition, GST registration isn’t tax-specific. This implies that UTGST/ SGST/CGST must have a unified registration. However, corporate companies with subsidiaries in different states will need to obtain state-wise GSTIN. A business organization with different branches inside a particular state must, apply for a unified GSTIN. Such an organization can proclaim one location as the main headquarters and then the other locations as additional business locations. But, for every industry vertical in a corporate enterprise, they may have to apply for a different GSTIN for every varying business vertical in the respective state.

Goods And Tax Identification Number

GSTIN, a unique identification number allocated to different vendors and providers of service, and is the acronym for Goods and Services Tax Identification Number. The idea of GSTIN is being implemented essentially to promote the participation of the citizens and government officials in the taxation framework around the nation.

Previously, all licensed merchants were given a TIN number under the state government’s VAT scheme, and it was the responsibility of the Central Board of Excise and Custom to allocate their service tax registration number to different service providers. Under this revised tax system, taxpayers all across the nation are brought together under a common roof to ease out the path for different administrative structures.

GSTIN Format

This 15 digit figure is based on PAN, which is unique to every state. Therefore, the following points represent the GST number format or the configuration of goods and services tax identification number that is distinctive to every legal entity.

The GSTIN’s initial two digits signify the key code for a particular state according to the 2011 National Census. Therefore, each State will have its own unique two-digit code.
GSTIN’s next 10 numbers comprise citizen’s Permanent Account Number(PAN). This implies that any individual who registers under GST must be sure to have a PAN. Moreover, without a PAN, only a non-resident taxable individual requesting enrollment under GST can submit an application. The reason for this is, non-resident taxable individuals are allowed enrollment on the premise of a distinctive number or tax identification number. Therefore, this figure helps the government authorities of a foreign nation identify the business organization, wherever it is located within that country.
The 13th digit of the GSTIN reflects the total number of enrollments the agency or person has inside the state of a specified PAN. The PAN number is an alphanumeric sequence that ranges from 1 to 9 and runs from A to Z. In short, this figure is allocated on the grounds of the total number of registrations an individual has inside a specific state that has the same PAN.
The 14th digit by default is the alphabet “Z”. It has been kept vacant for future use.
The fifteenth digit is an alphanumeric symbol, called the verification/check code. The main reason for this digit is to spot errors. This digit or alphabet is determined from the numbers or characters contained in the specified character list. identification digits such as bank account numbers or other application-used ids use this form of verification code.

GSTIN Verification

To validate a GST number, you can visit the government-approved GST website and select the “Search Taxpayer” option. Fill in the correct GSTIN or Unique Identification Number of the concerned individual. You will now be displayed a captcha, make sure you type in the correct captcha in the given space. After completing this process the name of the registered business will be displayed to you.