The Centre and state tax officers are working on guidelines to bring uniformity in documents that are to be submitted for faster processing of GST registration application of businesses who pass on tax credit of over Rs 2.5 lakh a month, a senior official said on Friday.
Once agreed to by all states and the Centre, the proposal will be placed before the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising ministers from all states and UTs.
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) member GST Sanjay Mangal also said tax officers are also discussing automation in the process of cancellation of GST registration and streamlining the grounds on which a GST officer can cancel registration of a business.
Tax officers seek uniform procedure
Mangal said currently there is a "non-uniformity" in the procedure followed by the central GST formation and various state formations in granting registration under goods and services tax (GST) to large businesses who pass on credit over Rs 2.5 lakh/month and this creates uncertainty in the minds of taxpayers.
"We are trying to come up with some sort of a uniform circular, which will be approved by the Council. That will provide uniform guidelines, not only for the officers, but also for taxpayers... We are talking to the states... for coming up with a uniform SOP or uniform document and information which will be there in the (registration) form," Mangal said while speaking at the National Taxation Summit organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Simplified scheme for small businesses
The GST Council in its September 2025 meeting had already approved a simplified GST registration scheme for small and low-risk biz and the same was rolled out from November 1.
Small and low-risk businesses applicants whom the GST system identifies based on data analysis, or those applicants who self-assess that their output tax liability does not exceed Rs 2.5 lakh per month (inclusive of CGST, SGST/UTGST and IGST) can opt for the scheme.
About 1.68 crore businesses are currently registered under GST.
65% registrations through simplified route
Speaking at the National Taxation Summit, Mangal said about 65 per cent of GST registrations are now happening through this route.
For the remaining, 35 per cent of the new registration application, mainly for the slightly bigger business who wants to pass on credit more than Rs 2.5 lakh per month, the Centre and states officers are working to bring uniformity on the documents that need to be submitted and the information that has to be provided to avoid delay or further queries from tax officers.
"We are talking to states... because there are some requirements of different states," Mangal said, adding that discussions are also on to improve the process which is there on the GST Network (GSTN) system to ensure more hand-holding of the taxpayer and also if a guidance or tool tips for proper filing of the application could be given and that would eventually reduce the time taken to process the registration applications.