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GSTN introduces Multistate Registration facility for businesses in several states

By CAShorts DeskPublished Updated Sources: GSTN advisory; CBIC office memorandum; KNN India

GSTN introduces Multistate Registration facility for businesses in several states
Illustration (AI-generated)

GSTN announced on 1 October a "Multistate Registration" tab on the GST portal for taxpayers seeking registration in several States or UTs under one PAN. Common details are entered once under a master TRN, due within 15 days, and auto-filled into each state's application. Places of business and Aadhaar authentication are still completed state by state.

Syllabus: GS3 · Indian Economy & Growth; GS2 · Federalism & Local Government; GS2 · Governance & e-Governance

Why it matters

A company with offices or warehouses in five states has had to type the same business, promoter and signatory details into five separate registration applications. Entering them once and letting the portal copy them into each state's form saves that repeated work, which GSTN presents as an aid to ease of doing business. The legal map does not change: each state still gets its own application, and the firm still holds a separate registration, with its own compliance, in every state. The burden industry has long complained of, dealing with several tax offices for audits and assessments, is what the CBIC working group was set up to examine, and in July that was a proposal under study, not a decision.

Prelims pointers

  • GSTN (Goods and Services Tax Network) runs the GST common portal; it announced the Multistate Registration facility through a portal advisory.
  • Section 25 of the CGST Act, 2017 requires registration in every State or Union Territory where a person is liable to register.
  • A GSTIN is a 15-character, PAN-based number issued for each State/UT registration, so one PAN can hold several GSTINs.
  • CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) is under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance; its GST Policy Wing issued the 18 July 2026 memorandum.
  • The proposal before the working group covers only GSTINs under Central Tax jurisdiction; GSTINs registered with State/UT tax jurisdictions are outside it.
  • Centralised registration and the Large Taxpayer Unit were mechanisms of the pre-GST Central Excise and Service Tax regime; the working group was asked to study both.

Practise a UPSC-style question

With reference to the "Multistate Registration" facility on the GST common portal, consider the following statements:

1. It lets a taxpayer seek registration in several States/UTs under the same PAN through a master temporary reference number.

2. Non-resident taxable persons can currently use it to apply in several States/UTs together.

3. Common details entered once are auto-filled into each State/UT application and remain editable.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) 1 and 2 only
  2. (b) 2 and 3 only
  3. (c) 1 and 3 only
  4. (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

1 is correct: selecting the States/UTs generates a master temporary reference number (TRN) for a taxpayer seeking registration in more than one State/UT under the same PAN. 2 is incorrect: GSTN's advisory says the facility is currently available to normal taxpayers alone. 3 is correct: the Common Registration Information filed once is auto-populated into each State/UT application and stays editable.

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