CBIC issues guidelines for GST registration applications

26 October 2026 · GST

What changed. CBIC has issued guidelines for persons applying for GST registration in FORM GST REG-01, with FAQs and a document checklist annexed. The main points:

• The legal name must match PAN (and the certificate of incorporation, for companies). Details of directors or designated partners must include their DIN.
• Photographs must be individual, recent, full-face colour photographs, not copies of an ID card.
• The principal place of business must be a complete, specific address matching the proof uploaded. Separate document sets are listed for owned, rented (with or without an agreement), consent-based, co-working and SEZ premises. Premises owned by a relative or a director are "consent", not "own".
• Officers may raise a query in FORM GST REG-03 only for an incomplete or illegible document, an address mismatch or a vague address, and should not ask for unrelated documents such as an Udyam certificate.
• With Aadhaar authentication, the application is to be processed within seven working days; otherwise, or where physical verification is required, within thirty days. A reply in REG-04 is due within seven working days, and the officer decides within seven working days of the reply.

Who it affects. Every business applying for GST registration, including companies, LLPs and startups.

From when. The circular is dated 26 October 2026 and applies to applications processed from then.

What to do. - Opt for Aadhaar authentication when applying. - Use the premises document set that matches how you occupy the premises. - Respond to any REG-03 notice within seven working days. - If a registration is delayed or unwarranted queries are raised, the circular allows a complaint to the jurisdictional Chief Commissioner of Central Tax or Commissioner of State Tax.

Official source: CBIC Circular No. 257/03/2026-GST dated 26 October 2026

This is general information based on the law as on the date shown, not professional advice. Rules change often; check the current position before acting.