The much-awaited GST (Goods and Service Tax) came into force on 1st July 2017 in India. In last thirty years, it is the first significant step towards the indirect tax reform in the country.
GST is a step towards making the country one unified common market. It is a single tax on the supply of goods and services, right from the manufacturer to the consumer.
All the registered GST dealers under the GST Act are required to kit out the details of their sales and purchases of goods and services along with the tax collected and paid by them by filing returns.
They might also want to do a GST Number (GSTIN) verification before entering it in your GST Returns.
GSTIN is 15 – digit Goods & Services Taxpayer Identification Number, which is PAN-based and has been allotted to each taxpayer (business entity).
A format has been also set for this 15 digit GSTIN which are as follows:
- The first two digit represents the State Code
- And the next 10 digit represents the PAN number of the business entity
- On which the thirteenth digit is based on the number of registration, the fourteenth digit is Z by default and the last digit is for check code.
The Government has also launched GST portal which enables businesses to verify their GST numbers (GSTIN). The business dealers can use this feature provided by the Government free of cost. However, they are required to have vendors GSTIN.
As technology has revolutionized our way of living, it has made our life more comfortable and easy, hence, Government has launched online method to check GST number.
Contents
How to Check GST Number (GTSIN) Online
You can check your GST number online by using three steps
- Have a secured internet connection and visit GST portal here and click on search Taxpayer > Search by GSTIN / UIN on the GST Portal home page
GST Offical Portal - There you will see Search Taxpayer. And in the dropdown select Search by GSTIN / UIN.
- In the box enter the GST number of the dealer and click on Search.
GST Portal Search Box - On the resulting page if the GSTIN is correct you will be able to see the information of the dealer.
Dealer Details
In case the GST number is correct you will have to provide the following details
- Legal name of business
- State
- Date of registration
- Construction of business – company, sole-proprietor or partnership
- Taxpayer type – regular taxpayer or composition dealer
In case the GST number which the dealer has entered is incorrect, an error message will be displayed on the screen. In this case, you will have to contact your vendor and get the correct GSTIN.
If any individual wants they can also verify if they have been provided with fake GST Bills with fake GSTIN
- For that visit the official GST portal and go to ‘Search Page‘ option
- You will be required to enter your business entity’s GST number to find out if it is valid or not
- Now enter the captcha code and click on search button
- Upon clicking on the search button, you will be provided with the result of entered GST number.
GST Rate Check
GST rates have also been unfolded which has a 4 – tier structure ranging between 5 % and 28 %. Where necessities have been set to the lowest and luxury has been set to the highest.
No Tax Items (0 %)
The Government has kept inflation in mind and kept basic requirements of a person like food grains, poultry, milk, fresh meat, curd, fish, flour, bread, cereals, salt, printed books, handloom items etc. at 0 %. Which means these items are exempted from GST.
5%, 12% and 18% Tax Items
The common man essentials such as tea and coffee, medicines, kerosene and frozen vegetables among others will be taxed at 5 %. Also, services like air and rail transport will also fall under the 5% bracket.
28% Items
However, the luxury items are not spared under this bracket. Luxury items such as personal aircraft or yachts, motorbikes, automobiles shampoo, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, refrigerators, air conditioners, vending machines, deodorants and more. 5-star hotels and movie theaters etc. will fall under the 28 % bracket.
Since the essentials are kept under the lowest tax brackets, the common man will not be affected too much. Among the others, this is one of the reasons behind calling GST a unified tax reform in the country.
To know more about GST tax rates and the list of products and services that falls under these tax brackets
- download ‘Central Board of Excise & Customs – CBEC‘: GST Rate Finder (Governments official mobile App) From here and search for GST slab rates based on respective Goods & Services
Government is doing its part well in order to spread awareness amongst the people related to GST. We should also beware of the fraudulent practices adopted by some of the traders.
To know more about GST read https://rupeenomics.com/category/gst/