Persons and business entities, whether small (including start-ups), medium, or large organizations registering under GST are provided with a unique identification number known as GSTIN (GST Identification Number), or simply called a GST Number. So far, for any dealer registered under state VAT law, a unique TIN (Tax Identification Number) is issued by the respective state tax authorities. Similarly, a service provider is assigned a service tax registration number by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). In this article, we shall learn more about what is GST Number? and how you can know Your 15 Digit GSTIN

Under the revised Goods and Services tax Act, 2017, every business entity is consolidated under a single taxation authority and all the multiple identification numbers are replaced by only one registration number, which is GSTIN or GST number.

What is GSTIN or GST number?

Earlier, each time a person bought certain goods or services, then the seller would give him/her a bill. In that bill, the person would usually find the TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number). This was a unique 11-digit number that was allotted to each business entity that registered with the commercial tax department. Also, this TIN registration was mandatory for all manufacturers, traders, exporters, dealers, etc.

Now, after the entry of the GST regime, this TIN is now replaced with a 15-digit GSTIN (Goods and Services Tax Identification Number). Thus, this GST number, also called Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN) is basically a 15-digit number that is unique to every tax payer who is registered under GST.

The GSTIN or GSTIN consists of 15 digits, where the first 2 digits of the GST number indicates the state in which the taxpayer is registered. The next 10 alpha-numeric characters indicate the PAN details of the tax payer. The next two characters that follow indicate the entity code and a reserved letter, respectively and the last digit indicates the check sum number.

For example: A sample GSTIN or GST number looks like this:-

XX ABXCXXDEFX 1 Z X

Given below is a complete break-up of the proposed GST Identification Number. Each taxpayer will be allotted a state-wise PAN-based 15-digit Goods and Services Taxpayer Identification Number (GSTIN).

* Every taxpayer will be assigned a state-wise PAN-based Goods and Services Taxpayer Identification Number (GSTIN) which will be 15 digit long.

* The first two digits of GSTIN will represent the state code according to Indian Census 2011. Each state has a unique two-digit code, such as “27” for Maharashtra and “10” for Bihar, for instance.

* The next ten digits of GSTIN will be the PAN number of the taxpayer.

* The 13th digit indicates the number of registrations an entity has within a state for the same PAN.It will be an alpha-numeric number (first 1-9 and then A-Z) and will be assigned on the basis of number of registrations a legal entity (having the same PAN) has within one state.For example, if a legal entity has single or one registration only within a state then it will be assigned the number “1” as 13th digit of the GSTIN. If the same legal entity gets another or second registration for a second business vertical within the same state, then the 13th digit of GSTIN assigned to this entity will become “2”. Similarly, if an entity has 11 registrations in the same state then it will be assigned letter “B” in the 13th place. This way up to 35 business verticals of any legal entity can be registered within a state using this system.

* The fourteenth digit currently has no use and therefore will be “Z” by default.

* The last digit will be a check code which will be used for detection of errors.

The state codes on the GSTIN are as below.

01-Jammu and Kashmir
02-Himachal Pradesh
03-Punjab
04-Chandigarh
05-Uttarakhand
06-Haryana
07-Delhi
08-Rajastan
09-Uttar Pradesh
10-Bihar
11-Sikkim
12-Arunachal Pradesh
13-Nagaland
14-Manipur
15-Mizoram
16-Tripura
17-Meghalaya
18-Assam
19-West Bengal
20-Jharkhand
21-Orrissa
22-Chattisgarh
23-Madhya Pradesh
24-Gujarat
25-Daman and Diu
26-Dadar and Nagar Haveli
27-Maharashtra
28-Andhra Pradesh
29-Karnataka
30-Goa
31-Lakshadweep
32-Kerala
33-Tamil Nadu
34-Puducherry
35-Anadaman and Nicobar Islands

Why is it required to register for GSTIN?

As per government proposal, the business process proposed in this document is based on the assumption that a legal person without GST registration can neither collect GST from his/her customers nor claim any input tax credit of GST paid by him/her.

How to obtain GSTIN or GST number?

To obtain GSTIN, all existing taxpayers registered under any of the following Acts, will have to enrol themselves on the GST Common Portal https://gst.gov.in.

* Central Excise
* Service Tax
* State Sales Tax or VAT or Central Sales Tax (CST)
* Entry Tax
* Luxury Tax
* Entertainment Tax

These traders will be provided a Provisional ID and a Provisional Password to access GST portal and start with the registration process. Once they complete the registration process, they will be allotted the GSTIN.

Search GSTIN by person name or company name
You can also search a GST number by name of the respective person or company. Earlier, the facility was provided on the GST portal itself. But now this functionality is closed on the GST portal.

As of now, there is no option to search GSTIN of a person or company by name on the GST portal. However, there is a third-party website KnowYourGST that has launched the facility to search details with name.

To know the GSTIN of a person by name, you may visit the website mentioned above and search.

Search GSTIN by PAN

You can also search GSTIN of a person with his/her PAN (Permanent Account Number) details on the government GST portal along with the name, you can also search GST numbers with PAN of a person or company. You may also search a GST number using PAN by doing trial and error method.

For example, the first two digits in a GST number represent the state, the next ten characters represent the PAN number, the thirteenth digit will be 1 in most of the cases, the fourteenth character will be ‘Z’ mostly and the last and fifteenth character can be anything from 0 to 9 and A to Z.

So, you can use trial and error method and try to find GST number using PAN.

How to verify whether a GST number is genuine or fake?

You can search online on the government GST portal https://gst.gov.in to check whether a GST number is genuine or counterfeit.

What to do if a GST number is fake?

If you find a GST number that may be fake or doubt that someone is cheating with you, then you should report that number of gst immediately and complain it to the authorities of the GST department.

You may e-mail your complaint to helpdesk@gst.gov.in or you may complain about this to the customer helpline number 0120-4888999 / 0124-4688999.