Registering as a Non-Resident Taxable Person

A foreign company plans to sell goods at a trade fair in India, or to carry out a short contract here. It has no office in India, and none of its people live here. To register under GST it needs things that a foreign business does not usually have to hand. It needs an authorised signatory who lives in India and holds an Indian PAN, a place of business in the State concerned, and enough cash in advance to cover the tax on the supplies it expects to make. Without the signatory, the application cannot even be started.

This guide covers the procedure for a non-resident taxable person. It assumes the general steps in Applying for GST Registration: the Steps Every Applicant Takes and sets out where this registration differs.

Who is a non-resident taxable person

Section 2(77) defines a non-resident taxable person as one “who occasionally undertakes transactions involving supply of goods or services or both, whether as principal or agent or in any other capacity, but who has no fixed place of business or residence in India”. Section 24(v) requires “non-resident taxable persons making taxable supply” to register whatever their turnover.

The difference from a casual taxable person is one of geography. A casual taxable person lacks a fixed place of business in a State but has a base elsewhere in India. A non-resident has neither a place of business nor a residence anywhere in India. The casual procedure is in Registering as a Casual Taxable Person. Most of the mechanics, including the deposit and the ninety-day limit, are shared. The form, the identity documents and the returns are not.

Not to be confused with OIDAR suppliers

A foreign supplier of online information and database access or retrieval services to non-taxable online recipients in India registers under a different route. That route is rule 14 of the CGST Rules, in FORM GST REG-10, and the supplier files FORM GSTR-5A under rule 64. Since 2023, suppliers of online money gaming from outside India use the same route. The special provisions are in section 14 of the IGST Act. This guide does not deal with them further.

What must be in place before applying

The portal’s FAQ on registration by a non-resident taxable person lists the preconditions:

• an authorised signatory in India with a valid PAN, a valid Indian mobile number and an e-mail address
• a PAN, passport number, or tax identification number or unique number by which the entity is identified by its home government
• a place of business identified in the State for the period of registration

Rule 13(4) is the legal source of the first condition. The application must be signed or verified “by his authorised signatory who shall be a person resident in India having a valid Permanent Account Number”. The instructions printed with FORM GST REG-09 go further: “Authorised signatory shall be an Indian national and shall not be a minor”. The portal’s manual uses the rule’s test, residence, and quotes the income-tax tests of residence. A PAN for the non-resident itself is not essential. The portal’s FAQ says “PAN is not mandatory” if a passport number or foreign tax identification number is given.

The timing and the deposit

Rule 13(1) requires the application in REG-09 “at least five days prior to the commencement of business”. It must be accompanied by “a self-attested copy of his valid passport”. A business entity incorporated or established outside India must give its tax identification number or unique number, “or its Permanent Account Number, if available”.

Rule 13(2) follows the casual pattern. The applicant gets a temporary reference number “for making an advance deposit of tax in accordance with the provisions of section 27”, and the acknowledgement “shall be issued electronically only after the said deposit in his electronic cash ledger”. Section 27(2) fixes the amount as “the estimated tax liability of such person for the period for which the registration is sought”. The deposit is credited to the electronic cash ledger and used under section 49.

The portal’s manual describes the mechanics. The estimated tax is entered by type: integrated tax for inter-State turnover, central and State or Union territory tax for intra-State turnover, and cess. The portal then generates a challan with the amounts “prefilled”, which “cannot be edited by the Taxpayer”. A provisional GSTIN is created and printed on the challan. “ARN in case of Non-Resident Taxable Person can only be generated once payment of advance tax is done.”

The application, step by step

1. On the portal (Services, Registration, New Registration), the applicant selects “Non-resident Taxable Person” as the type of taxpayer, with the State and district.
2. In Part A, the applicant enters its legal name as in its passport or PAN record, and one of PAN, passport number or foreign tax identification number. It also enters the authorised signatory’s name and PAN, an e-mail address and an Indian mobile number. Separate one-time passwords verify the e-mail and mobile, and the portal issues a fifteen-digit Temporary Reference Number. A draft not submitted within fifteen days is purged.
3. Part B has five tabs: Business Details, Authorized Signatory, Principal Place of Business, Bank Accounts and Verification. On Business Details the applicant enters the period of registration, the estimated turnover and tax, and its address in the country of origin. The manual states that registration “can be obtained for a maximum of 90 days”.
4. The applicant generates the challan and pays the deposit.
5. The applicant enters the signatory’s details, uploads the signatory’s photograph and proof of appointment, and gives the principal place of business with its proof of possession. Bank details are optional at this stage; the manual says they are added afterwards by a non-core amendment.
6. The signatory verifies the form by digital signature, e-signature or EVC. E-signature is available only if the signatory has an Aadhaar number and has entered it in the form.
7. After validation the ARN issues and the status becomes “Pending for Processing”.
8. On approval, the GSTIN and a temporary password are sent to the primary authorised signatory. The status of the GSTIN changes from “Provisional” to “Active”, and the certificate in FORM GST REG-06 appears on the dashboard.

How the officer processes it

Rule 13(3) applies “the provisions of rule 9 and rule 10 relating to the verification and the grant of registration … mutatis mutandis”. The officer therefore has seven working days to approve or to issue a query in FORM GST REG-03. The applicant replies in REG-04. Where the conditions of the proviso to rule 9(1) apply, physical verification of the place of business under rule 25 extends the period to thirty days, with the report and photographs uploaded in FORM GST REG-30.

Two features of the general process do not map neatly onto this one. Rule 9A, which grants registration electronically within three working days on risk parameters, applies by its terms to applications “under rule 8 or rule 12 or rule 17”. It does not mention rule 13. Rule 8(4A), on Aadhaar authentication, is likewise framed for applications under rule 8. REG-09 does ask for the latitude and longitude of the principal place of business. However, the portal’s FAQ on geocoding existing registrations does not list non-resident taxable persons among the registrants to whom that facility applies.

Validity and extension

Section 27(1) applies to non-residents exactly as to casual taxable persons. The certificate is valid for the period applied for or ninety days, whichever is earlier, and the proper officer may extend it “by a further period not exceeding ninety days”. The extension is sought in FORM GST REG-11 before the validity ends. Under rule 15(2) it is acknowledged only on payment of a further deposit for the extension period.

The portal’s FAQ says the registration can be extended “once”, and that a non-resident whose business continues after the extension must obtain “registration as a normal taxpayer in the concerned state”.

Credit, returns and refund of the deposit

The credit a non-resident can use is narrow. Section 17(5)(f) blocks credit on “goods or services or both received by a non-resident taxable person except on goods imported by him”. GSTR-5 has a table for this, for inputs and capital goods imported, bill of entry by bill of entry. Credit generally is covered in Input Tax Credit: the Conditions in Section 16(2).

The return is FORM GSTR-5, not GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B; rule 61 expressly excludes non-residents from GSTR-3B. Section 39(5) requires it “for every calendar month or part thereof”. It is due within thirteen days after the end of the month, or within seven days after the last day of the registration period, whichever is earlier. Thirteen days has been the limit since 1 October 2022, when the Finance Act, 2022 replaced “twenty”. Rule 63 and the instructions to GSTR-5, as published by CBIC, still say twenty days. The Act’s shorter period is the one in force.

Under section 54(13), the advance deposit “shall not be refunded unless such person has, in respect of the entire period for which the certificate of registration granted to him had remained in force, furnished all the returns required under section 39”. GSTR-5 itself has a table, “Refund claimed from electronic cash ledger”, in which the balance is claimed.

Document checklist

Sizes and formats are those stated in the portal’s FAQ on registration by a non-resident taxable person.

Document	Provided by	Format and limit (portal FAQ)
Self-attested copy of passport “with VISA details” (rule 13(1); REG-09 document list)	Non-resident	not stated
Tax identification or unique number from the home country, for an entity	Non-resident entity	entered in the form
Photograph of authorised signatory	Signatory	JPG, 100 KB
Letter of authorisation, or copy of board or managing committee resolution with acceptance letter	Non-resident and signatory	JPG or PDF, 100 KB
Proof of principal place of business. Owned premises: property tax receipt, municipal khata, electricity bill or legal ownership document. Leased or rented: rent or lease agreement (or rent receipt with NOC where there is no agreement or it has expired) plus an ownership document. Consent or shared: consent letter plus an ownership document	Non-resident, landlord or consenter	JPG or PDF; rent or lease agreement 2 MB, rent receipt with NOC 1 MB, legal ownership document 1 MB, other proofs 100 KB
Bank account proof (passbook first page, cancelled cheque or statement), if bank details are given	Non-resident	JPG or PDF, 100 KB
Challan identification number for the deposit	Generated on payment	entered in the form

Forms involved

• FORM GST REG-09: the application, prescribed by rule 13.
• FORM GST PMT-06: the challan for the advance deposit, generated with the amounts prefilled.
• FORM GST REG-02: the acknowledgement, issued after the deposit.
• FORM GST REG-03 and REG-04: the officer’s query and the reply.
• FORM GST REG-30: the physical verification report, where applicable.
• FORM GST REG-06: the certificate.
• FORM GST REG-11: the extension.
• FORM GSTR-5: the monthly return, which also carries the refund claim.
• FORM GST REG-10 and FORM GSTR-5A: the separate OIDAR route only.

Declarations, consents and authorisations

Prescribed by REG-09:

• the declaration at item 8 that the information “is true and correct … and nothing has been concealed therefrom”
• the note that the non-resident “is required to upload declaration … along with scanned copy of the passport and photograph”
• the authorisation of each signatory in the annexed format, signed by the person competent to sign for the non-resident, with the signatory’s own “acceptance as an authorised signatory”, which states that “all my acts shall be binding on the business”

Required by the REG-09 document list: a consent letter where the premises are neither owned nor rented.

Accepted by the portal in practice: a rent receipt with a no-objection certificate where a rent agreement is absent or expired, as listed in the portal’s FAQ.

The procedure in summary

1. Appoint an authorised signatory resident in India with a valid PAN and Indian mobile number, and secure a place of business in the State.
2. At least five days before the first supply, complete Part A of REG-09 and obtain the Temporary Reference Number.
3. In Part B, state the period (ninety days at most), the estimated turnover and tax by type, and the address abroad.
4. Pay the advance deposit through the prefilled challan against the provisional GSTIN.
5. Upload the passport, authorisation, photographs and premises proof, and verify the form. The ARN issues once the deposit is in the cash ledger.
6. Answer any query in REG-04. Make no taxable supply until REG-06 is issued.
7. If more time is needed, file REG-11 with a further deposit before validity ends. If the business continues beyond the extension, apply for normal registration.
8. File GSTR-5 for every month or part month, within thirteen days or within seven days of the end of registration, whichever is earlier. Claim the balance of the deposit in GSTR-5 once all returns are filed.

The next guide covers registration by government departments and others required to deduct tax at source: Registering as a Tax Deductor (TDS).