Published 10 October 2026
A partnership firm and a limited liability partnership look alike on the GST portal. Both have partners, both appear in the same tab of the application, and both carry the word “partnership”. The law treats them differently. A firm under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 is not a body corporate, while an LLP under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 is. The difference shows up in four places in the GST application: the proof of constitution, the identifier the portal checks against the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the people whose Aadhaar the law requires, and how the application may be signed.
The common procedure is in Applying for GST Registration: the Steps Every Applicant Takes. This guide covers only what differs for firms and LLPs.
PAN, legal name and constitution
Both register on their own PAN, not a partner’s. The legal name in Part A is the name in the PAN database. In Part B, the constitution is selected from the list in item 2 of FORM GST REG-01, either “Partnership” or “Limited Liability Partnership”. The portal’s manual says the choice “will be validated with the CBDT Database for a match with the PAN entered in Part A”. An LLP that selects “Partnership”, or a firm that selects “Limited Liability Partnership”, fails at that step.
An LLP also enters its LLP Identification Number under “Indicate existing registrations”, a field FORM GST REG-01 provides for in item 15. The portal’s FAQs on Business Details state that “CIN/FCRN/LLPIN/FLLPIN details … are validated with MCA records during Registration or Amendment application processing”. If validation fails, “ARN will not be generated until validation is successful”. A firm has no equivalent MCA identifier.
Partners: all of them, and at least two
Item 21 of FORM GST REG-01 asks for details of the “Proprietor/all Partners/Karta/Managing Directors…”. The list of documents qualifies the photographs only: for a partnership firm or LLP, “personal details of all partners are to be submitted but photos of only ten partners including that of Managing Partner are to be submitted”.
The portal applies its own limits. Its FAQs allow “a maximum of 10 Promoters/Partners/Directors” in the application, and the manual says that at least two promoters or partners must be added before the application can be submitted. For a firm with more than ten partners, the form’s requirement and the portal’s ceiling do not sit together; the portal’s guidance does not say how the remaining partners are to be recorded.
The Director Identification Number field is not mandatory for an LLP, according to the manual, and has no application to a firm.
Whose Aadhaar the law requires, and whose the portal asks for
Section 25(6C) requires a person other than an individual to authenticate the Aadhaar of persons connected with it “as the Government may … specify”. Notification No. 19/2020-Central Tax, from 1 April 2020, specifies three classes: the “authorised signatory of all types”, the “Managing and Authorised partners of a partnership firm”, and the Karta of a Hindu undivided family.
The portal asks for fewer people than the notification names, and not always the same ones. Its table requires authentication of the Primary Authorised Signatory and one partner, the two coinciding where a partner is the signatory. For an LLP, its manual requires one designated partner and the Primary Authorised Signatory. The notification names partners of “a partnership firm” and says nothing of designated partners of an LLP. For an LLP, the statutory requirement therefore rests on the authorised signatory, and the designated partner’s authentication is the portal’s requirement.
Where the portal requires a visit to a GST Suvidha Kendra, the partner and the signatory both attend within fifteen days. The FAQs say the partner gives biometrics only, and the signatory brings the original documents for verification. They advise the partner to visit first. If either does not complete the visit, “ARN would not be generated”.
The authorised signatory
Instruction 4 to FORM GST REG-01 lists who may sign the application: for a partnership, “Managing / Authorised Partners”; for an LLP, “Designated Partners”. The portal’s FAQs allow up to ten authorised signatories, exactly one of them primary, and they may include employees who are not partners. Instruction 11 provides that the signatory “shall not be a minor”.
Each signatory needs a proof of appointment. Item 5 of the documents list prescribes an authorisation in a set format, signed by the partners. It declares that the named person “is hereby authorised, vide resolution No. … dated …”, and is followed by the signatory’s acceptance. For a firm this is usually a letter signed by the partners. For an LLP the form refers to a resolution, and the portal’s checklist lists both “Letter of Authorisation” and “Copy of Resolution passed by BoD/ Managing Committee and Acceptance letter” as accepted documents.
Once registered, rule 26(2)(e) of the CGST Rules governs who signs later documents. For a firm, that is “any partner thereof, not being a minor or authorised signatory thereof”. Rule 26(2) has no clause naming LLPs. An LLP falls within clause (h), “some person competent to act on his behalf”.
Signing: EVC for a firm, DSC for an LLP
Instruction 7 to FORM GST REG-01 sets out the signature required. A Limited Liability Partnership and a Foreign Limited Liability Partnership must sign with a digital signature certificate “Class-2 and above”. Other applicants, including partnership firms, may use a DSC, e-signature “or any other mode as may be notified”.
The portal enforces this. Its FAQs state that DSC is mandatory for, among others, “LLP” and “Foreign LLP”, and “all other modes of submission will be disabled by the system”. The DSC must be “an un-expired and unrevoked, PAN-based Class II or Class III DSC”. A partnership firm may use EVC, e-signature or DSC. The DSC must be registered on the portal by the signatory before it can be used.
The document checklist for firms and LLPs
| Document | Firm | LLP | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proof of constitution | Partnership deed | Not named in the REG-01 list; the portal’s checklist lists a certificate of incorporation among proof of constitution documents | REG-01 list item 2; GSTN document checklist |
| LLPIN | Not applicable | Entered in Business Details and validated with MCA | REG-01 item 15; portal FAQ |
| Photographs of partners | Up to ten, including the managing partner (JPEG, up to 100 KB) | Up to ten, including designated partners | REG-01 list item 1(b) |
| Authorisation and acceptance for each signatory | Letter signed by partners | Resolution or authorisation | REG-01 list item 5 (up to 1 MB) |
| Proof of principal place of business | Ownership document, rent agreement with landlord’s ownership proof, or consent letter | Same | REG-01 list item 3 |
Two practice points come from Instruction No. 03/2025-GST, issued by the CBIC to central tax officers. First, “where the applicant is one of the partners, Partnership Deed for the proof of constitution of business is required”. The instruction adds that “no additional document like Udhyam certificate, MSME certificate, shop establishment certificate, trade license etc. should be sought”. The REG-01 list asks for the deed, not a certificate of registration of the firm under the Partnership Act. Second, premises owned personally by a partner are not the firm’s own premises, so the route is the consent letter under item 3© of the list. The instruction says a consent letter “in plain paper” with the owner’s identity proof and one ownership document “should suffice”.
After grant: partners change, the registration does not
A change in partners does not change the firm’s or LLP’s PAN, so it does not need a fresh registration. Rule 19(1) requires an amendment in FORM GST REG-14 “within a period of fifteen days” of any change in the particulars. Clause (a)(iii) of the proviso treats “addition, deletion or retirement of partners” as a change the officer approves in FORM GST REG-15. The amendment then takes effect “from the date of the occurrence of the event”. Under clause (b), that change applies to every registration on the same PAN.
A conversion from firm to LLP is different, because the LLP has a new PAN. Rule 19(1) then requires “fresh registration in FORM GST REG-01”. The guide on amending a registration covers both.
The rest follows the common procedure: bank details under rule 10A within thirty days or before the first GSTR-1, and display of the certificate and GSTIN under rule 18. The bank account is the firm’s or LLP’s own.
The procedure for a firm or LLP, in order
- Enter the firm’s or LLP’s PAN in Part A, with the Primary Authorised Signatory’s mobile and e-mail.
- Select the correct constitution; an LLP enters its LLPIN for MCA validation.
- Add the partners (at least two, up to ten on the portal), with photographs.
- Add the authorised signatories, each with the authorisation and acceptance in the REG-01 format.
- Upload the partnership deed (firm) or proof of constitution (LLP), and proof of the principal place of business.
- Complete Aadhaar authentication for the signatory and one partner, or the GST Suvidha Kendra visit if required.
- Sign: a firm by EVC, e-signature or DSC; an LLP by a registered DSC only.
- After grant, report partner changes by amendment within fifteen days.
The next guide in this set covers companies, where the Ministry of Corporate Affairs record does more of the work and the digital signature is compulsory.