How to register for GST in Mumbai and Thane: the steps, the documents and what goes wrong

Current as at 2 October 2026, with an update on 8 October 2026: the GST Council met on 8 October and recommended further changes to registration (see section 8). Until they are notified, the process below continues to apply.

GST registration is free and applied for online, and many small businesses can now be registered within three working days. It still goes wrong often enough to be worth preparing for — usually over the premises documents, the Aadhaar or biometric step, or a query answered in the wrong place. This is the process as it works today for a business in Mumbai, Thane and the surrounding districts, with the points where applications stall.

1. Do you need to register?

In Maharashtra the threshold is ₹40 lakh of aggregate turnover in a financial year for a supplier of goods only, and ₹20 lakh where you supply services or both (₹20 lakh also applies to suppliers of ice cream, pan masala and tobacco products). Aggregate turnover is all-India, PAN-wide, and includes exempt and exported supplies, so a consultant billing ₹15 lakh in India and ₹8 lakh to overseas clients is over the line.

Some businesses must register from the first rupee, whatever their turnover: anyone making inter-state supplies of goods; anyone liable to pay tax under reverse charge; casual taxable persons setting up a temporary stall or exhibition; non-resident taxable persons; agents supplying on behalf of others; input service distributors; persons required to deduct TDS under section 51; e-commerce operators themselves; and overseas suppliers of online information and database services to Indian consumers.

Selling through Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho or another e-commerce operator also requires registration, with two reliefs. A supplier of services through an operator need not register until the ₹20 lakh threshold, except for services on which the operator itself pays the tax, such as cab rides and restaurant delivery. And since 1 October 2023 a supplier of goods below the threshold who sells only within Maharashtra, through operators in that one state, can sell on an enrolment number instead of a GSTIN.

Registering below the threshold is voluntary and can be worthwhile: it lets you claim input tax credit on purchases, issue the tax invoices corporate customers usually insist on, and claim refunds of input credit on exports made under a Letter of Undertaking. Against that, a registered business must file returns every month or quarter, including nil returns, so weigh the ongoing compliance before registering voluntarily.

2. Have these ready before you open the portal

• PAN of the business (the proprietor's own PAN for a proprietorship) and a mobile number and email that you control — every OTP, query and notice goes there.
• Aadhaar of the primary authorised signatory and of at least one promoter, partner or director, with access to the mobile number linked to each Aadhaar. Aadhaar authentication is optional in law, but opting out sends the application for physical verification of the premises and, in Maharashtra, a visit to a GST Suvidha Kendra for document verification — and the three-day route is not available without it.
• Passport-size photographs (JPEG, under 100 KB) of each promoter and the authorised signatory.
• Constitution document: partnership deed for a firm; certificate of incorporation for a company or LLP; registration certificate for a trust or society. A proprietorship needs none. Officers may not ask a partnership firm for an Udyam (MSME) or Shop Act certificate or a trade licence in addition to the deed.
• Proof of the principal place of business — in our experience the item that draws the most queries; the table below sets out what is needed in each situation.
• The electricity consumer (CA) number of the premises and the name of the supplier (MSEDCL, BEST, Tata Power, Adani Electricity and so on). The portal treats it as mandatory for Maharashtra applicants, so keep the bill to hand.
• Board resolution or authorisation letter for the authorised signatory, where the applicant is a company, LLP or firm.
• A digital signature (DSC) for companies and LLPs, which must sign with DSC; proprietors and partnership firms can use Aadhaar-based EVC or e-Sign.
• Bank account details are not needed at the time of application; they must be added within 30 days of the certificate or before the first GSTR-1, whichever is earlier, or the registration is suspended.

What is acceptable proof of premises

CBIC Instruction 03/2025 of 17 April 2025 lists the documents that are enough in each situation, and officers may not ask for more without the approval of their Deputy or Assistant Commissioner. Strictly, the instruction binds central GST officers; an application allotted to the Maharashtra state GST department is not formally covered by it, so a state officer's query may occasionally go further.

A home address is a valid principal place of business. The instruction also bars officers from raising presumptive queries — that the declared activity seems unsuited to the premises, that a director lives in another city or state, or that an HSN code is supposedly not permitted in Maharashtra — unless something in the documents themselves is wrong.

3. The portal, step by step

Step 1 — Part A and the TRN. On gst.gov.in go to Services → Registration → New Registration, select "Taxpayer", choose Maharashtra and your district, and enter the PAN, the legal name exactly as it appears on the PAN, and the mobile number and email. Check the district carefully: Panvel, Kharghar and Ulwe are in Raigad district, and Vasai–Virar is in Palghar, not Thane. Two OTPs verify the contact details and the portal issues a Temporary Reference Number (TRN), valid for 15 days. Everything from here is saved against the TRN, so you can stop and resume.

Step 2 — Business details. Trade name, constitution, date of commencement, the date on which liability arose, and the reason for registration. This tab carries the "Option for registration under rule 14A". Select Yes if the tax you will charge on supplies to registered customers (B2B — CGST, SGST, IGST and compensation cess together) will stay within ₹2.5 lakh a month; tax on sales to consumers does not count. When the route was launched the government expected around 96% of new applicants to qualify. Choosing it makes Aadhaar authentication compulsory and puts the application on the three-day track. This tab is also where you opt for the composition scheme.

Two conditions come with Rule 14A. Only one Rule 14A registration is allowed per PAN in a state. And if your B2B tax later needs to exceed ₹2.5 lakh a month, you must first withdraw from the route in Form REG-32 — having filed all returns due and at least one tax period's returns, with no cancellation proceedings pending — and can exceed the limit only from the month after the withdrawal order in REG-33.

Step 3 — Promoters and partners. Personal details, PAN, Aadhaar, address and photograph of each proprietor, partner or director. Up to ten can be added. The details must match PAN and Aadhaar character for character — a middle name on one and not the other is a common cause of authentication failure.

Step 4 — Authorised signatory. The person who will sign returns. For a proprietorship this is the proprietor; for a company or firm, the person named in the board resolution or authorisation letter, which is uploaded here. An optional Authorised Representative tab follows, for a practitioner or employee who will file on your behalf.

Step 5 — Principal place of business. The full address with PIN; the state jurisdiction (sector, circle, ward, charge or unit) and the central jurisdiction (commissionerate, division and range), which the dropdowns narrow down by PIN code; the nature of possession (own, leased, rented, consent, shared or others); the proof from the table above; and the business activity carried out there. Additional places of business — a godown, a second office, a stall — go on the next tab.

Step 6 — Goods and services. At least one HSN code for goods or SAC code for services, up to five of each. Pick the codes you will actually invoice under; they can be amended later.

Step 7 — State-specific information. For Maharashtra this tab asks for the electricity supplier and the consumer (CA) number of the premises, which is mandatory, and has optional fields for the profession tax enrolment (EC/PTEC) and registration (RC/PTRC) certificate numbers if you already hold them. Profession tax enrolment is not a precondition for GST registration.

Step 8 — Aadhaar authentication and verification. On the Aadhaar Authentication tab, select the primary authorised signatory and at least one promoter, partner or director for authentication. On the Verification tab, tick the declaration and submit with DSC (compulsory for companies and LLPs), EVC or e-Sign. The Aadhaar step then happens by email rather than on screen — see the next section — and the ARN is generated only once it is complete.

4. Aadhaar authentication and the GST Suvidha Kendra visit

Since 8 February 2025, when a Maharashtra applicant opts for Aadhaar authentication, submission is followed by one of two emails. Which one you receive is decided by the department's risk system, not by you.

The first is a link for OTP-based Aadhaar authentication. Each person selected clicks the link, enters the Aadhaar number and the OTP sent to the Aadhaar-linked mobile, and the ARN follows.

The second is a link to book an appointment at a GST Suvidha Kendra (GSK) for biometric authentication and document verification. Book through the link and take:

• the appointment confirmation email and the jurisdiction details from the intimation email;
• your own original Aadhaar and PAN — each person who attends brings their own;
• the originals of the documents uploaded with the application.

Who attends. The persons selected on the Aadhaar tab: the primary authorised signatory and the promoter, partner or director chosen. The promoter gives biometrics only; the authorised signatory gives biometrics and has the documents verified, so the promoter's visit should come first. A promoter or director already biometrically verified for another GST registration need not repeat it, but the authorised signatory attends for document verification every time.

Directors living in another state. Since March 2025 a director of a company (private, public, unlimited or foreign) who lives in another state can choose a GSK in that home state through the booking link in the email. The choice is one-time and cannot be changed, and it is not available where the director is also the primary authorised signatory, who must attend the GSK in Maharashtra.

The 15-day limit. If anyone required does not complete the visit within 15 days, no ARN is generated and the application lapses. In our experience this is one of the commonest reasons Maharashtra applications fail without anyone noticing.

If you opted out of Aadhaar authentication, a GSK visit for photo capture and document verification is still required within 15 days, and the application then goes for physical verification of the premises.

5. What happens after the ARN

Rule 14A applicants who complete Aadhaar authentication are registered electronically within 3 working days of the ARN, without an officer's approval.

Applications the portal identifies as low-risk on its data analysis are also granted electronically within 3 working days, under rule 9A introduced at the same time, whether or not Rule 14A was chosen.

Other Aadhaar-authenticated applications are approved, or queried, within 7 working days. If the officer does nothing in that period the registration is deemed granted.

Applications flagged as risky, or where Aadhaar authentication was not done, go for physical verification of the premises, and the officer has 30 days to decide. The verification report, with photographs, is uploaded to the portal in REG-30.

A query comes as Form GST REG-03. CBIC's instruction allows its officers to ask only about four things: documents that are incomplete or illegible; an address on the proof that does not match the application; an address that is vague or incomplete; and an earlier GSTIN on the same PAN that was cancelled or suspended. You have 7 working days to reply in REG-04 through the portal — a reply sent by email or handed in at the office does not count — and the officer must then approve or reject within 7 working days. No reply means rejection in REG-05.

Approval comes as the registration certificate in REG-06, downloaded from the portal, with your 15-character GSTIN. The certificate is effective from the date liability arose if you applied within 30 days of that date; otherwise from the date of grant. Applying late also costs the input tax credit on stock held on the day before liability arose, which is available only to those who apply within 30 days, and interest and penalty can follow for supplies made in the gap.

6. The first thirty days after the certificate

• Add your bank account on the portal within 30 days, or before the first GSTR-1 if sooner. The account must be in the name of the business — for a proprietorship, the proprietor's own account on the same PAN. A missed deadline suspends the registration.
• Display the certificate at the premises and the GSTIN on the name board and on every invoice.
• Decide the return frequency: quarterly returns with monthly payment (QRMP) are available up to ₹5 crore turnover and suit many new businesses; monthly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B otherwise. The first return is due for the month or quarter from which the registration takes effect, even if there was no business.
• If you export goods or services, file a Letter of Undertaking straight away so that exports go out without IGST.
• Enrol for Maharashtra profession tax — PTEC for the company or firm and for each director or partner, and PTRC once you pay salaries above the profession tax threshold — and file the intimation or registration under the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act, which applies across the state. Neither is part of GST, but both usually come up in the same first month.
• If your turnover will stay under ₹1.5 crore (₹50 lakh for services) and you sell only within Maharashtra, consider the composition scheme — a flat rate without input credit and with quarterly payment. It is opted for at registration or by filing CMP-02 before the start of a financial year.

7. Why applications are rejected — what we see

Most of the rejected or lapsed applications we are asked to rescue trace back to one of these:

• the premises proof is in a different name from the one on the rent agreement;
• the landlord's utility bill is several months old or shows the address differently from the application;
• a promoter's name or date of birth differs between PAN and Aadhaar, so Aadhaar authentication fails;
• the authorisation letter for the signatory is missing or unsigned;
• the GSK appointment was never booked, or one of the people required did not attend;
• a REG-03 query was answered by email instead of on the portal, and the application was rejected for no reply.

A rejection is not a bar — a fresh application can be filed at once — but repeated rejections on the same PAN invite closer scrutiny the next time.

8. What the GST Council recommended on 8 October

The 57th GST Council meeting, held on 8 October 2026 (press reports had earlier given the date as 7 October), recommended the following registration changes:

• a circular listing the documents required, with FAQs, and drop-down options for them in Form REG-01;
• automatic acceptance of amendments to registration details, except a change of principal place of business (for Rule 14A registrations, that would be automatic too);
• automatic acceptance of cancellation applications once pending returns are filed and dues paid: first where the credit passed on never exceeded ₹2.5 lakh in a month (or the final return is filed on time), and later for all applications;
• system-based cancellation for non-filing or missing bank details, and revocation once the default is made good;
• a new rule 14B for small sellers of goods through e-commerce operators who use the operator's warehouse in a state where they have no physical presence.

These are recommendations. They take effect only when the notifications amending the rules, and the circular, are issued; until then the process above applies. Our note on the 57th GST Council meeting covers these changes and the meeting's other recommendations.

Questions we are asked

Is there a fee? No. The government charges nothing for registration. Professional fees are for preparing the file and handling queries.

Can I register at my home in Mumbai or Thane? Yes. A residential address is a valid principal place of business with the proof in the table above.

How long does it take? Three working days from the ARN under Rule 14A or the rule 9A low-risk route; seven working days otherwise; up to thirty if the application goes for physical verification. Add the time to book and attend a GSK appointment if that email arrives.

Do I need a separate registration for Mumbai and Thane? No. One Maharashtra registration covers every place of business in the state; list the others as additional places. A second state needs its own registration.

I live abroad — can I register an Indian business? Yes. Aadhaar authentication is needed only for the primary authorised signatory and one promoter, partner or director, so a business with an overseas promoter usually appoints a resident authorised signatory and authenticates through a director or partner who holds Aadhaar. An NRI who holds Aadhaar can authenticate like anyone else, and companies and LLPs sign with DSC. Talk to us before filing — who is selected, and the order of the GSK visits, matter.

This note is for general information only. It describes the registration process as at 2 October 2026, with the GST Council's recommendations of 8 October 2026 added the same day, and is not legal, tax or professional advice. Procedures on the GST portal change frequently; please confirm the current position before acting.

I. H. Khan and Associates
Tax, GST and business setup advisors — Mumbai and Thane. Contact us to discuss your situation.

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