How GST registration works
GST registration is PAN-based and state-specific: a business gets one GSTIN in each state it operates from. A hotel company with properties in Himachal Pradesh and Goa therefore has two GSTINs — one starting with Himachal's code, one with Goa's — under the same PAN. A registered business must also display its GSTIN on the name board at its principal place of business and at every additional place of business.
The GSTIN matters on every tax invoice: the supplier's is always printed, and a business customer's is what lets that customer claim input tax credit. Before issuing a company invoice, check the customer's number on the GST portal's taxpayer search — it returns the legal name, status and state.
Reading one
Take 07ABCDE1234F1Z5 — made up for this example:
- 07 — the state code (7 is Delhi in the government's state code list);
- ABCDE1234F — the PAN of the business;
- 1Z — the entity code;
- 5 — the check character.
How Nivasik handles it
- GST invoices carry the property's GSTIN, and a business customer's GSTIN can be kept on their profile.
- No GSTIN, no GST: until a GSTIN is on file, the rates Nivasik proposes on room charges, other charges and new POS items are 0%, and the screen says why. A rate somebody sets is theirs and is never rewritten.
- A counter can carry its own GSTIN, legal name and state code; those are owner-only settings.