The newly implemented feature in Indian Government’s GST portal makes the cancellation of GST registration of migrated taxpayers easier.

The Goods and Services tax (GST) that subsumed all the indirect taxes into one was put into effect from 1st July 2017. It did come with lots of promises and a tagline of ‘Work in Process’. Under this, all business units with annual turnover less than 20 lakhs are exempted. Others that are above this exemption limit have to be registered under the GST.

The self-GST registration has been discussed everywhere and has been manifested by guides and articles, but now the taxpayers can also cancel the registration on their own. However, the cancellation option is only for migrated taxpayers who want to cancel their registration.

The new feature introduced for business units to cancel the registration on the GSTN portal is extended to a) the taxpayer himself, b) the GST officer and c) the legal heir of the taxpayer. Only these three parties can initiate the cancellation procedure.

The cancellation of GST registration can be initiated in cases of death of the taxpayer. It can also be done voluntarily, but that’s only after one or more years have elapsed, starting from the date of registration.

When can a taxpayer cancel the GST registration?

  • Discontinuation of the business
  • The taxable person ceases to be liable to pay tax
  • Transfer of business due to amalgamation, merger-de-merger, sale, lease or otherwise
  • Registered voluntarily but didn’t commence the business within the specified time
  • Change in the constitution of the business leading to change in PAN
  • The taxpayer is not liable to be registered under GST any longer

Who are not allowed to file the cancellation of GST registration?   

  • Taxpayers who have been allotted UIN
  • Taxpayers registered as a Tax collector or Tax deductor

Steps to cancel GST Registration online on the GST Portal

The cancellation of GST Registration is live on the GSTN portal. Migrated taxpayers who have not been issued an invoice after registration can opt-out of the service. In case the taxpayer has filed any tax invoice, the form GST REG 16 has to be filed.

  1. Login to the GST portal with your login ID and password.
  2. Click on ‘Cancellation of provisional registration’, seen on the right-hand side of the page.
  3. A pop-up will appear asking if the taxpayer has raised any tax invoice in the period of GST. Select ‘NO’.
  4. After this, the taxpayer will have to go through verification and submit all the related forms and documents.

Forms used for GST cancellation

GST REG 16: The form is applicable only when the taxpayer is applying for the cancellation of the registration himself, and there is no consideration for any other application than the one which has elapsed one or more years after the GST registration.

GST REG 17: Only an authorized GST officer can use GST REG 17 to issue a notice to the taxpayer and its business entity in order to cancel the GST registration. Once the GST REG 17 has been issued, the taxpayer has to show cause if he/she doesn’t want to cancel the GST registration.

GST REG 18: To reply to a show-cause notice, GST REG 18 is used for a specific time period stated in the sub-rule(1). The taxpayer or the concerned party must reply to the notice within seven days of issuance of the notice, explaining safeguarding the cancellation of registration.

GST REG 19: The GST officer uses GST REG 19 form to issue a formal order for the cancellation of GST registration. The notice must be sent within 30 days from the date of application or the response date of GST REG 18.

GST REG 20: If the GST officer is satisfied with the show cause notice sent by the taxpayer, the officer can order to revoke any proceedings towards the cancellation of GST registration using the GST REG 20 form.