Penalty for non display of GST number at declared place of business

Is GST Number is Mandatory to Display on Board?

As per Rule 18 of Goods and Service Tax, every registered person who has opted GST Registration under any state, then that person has mandatorily displayed their registration number on the name board in a prominent location at his principal place of business and at every additional place or places of business.

Display of registration certificate and Goods and Services Tax Identification Number {GSTIN} on the name board.

As Per Rule 18 of CGST Rules 2017, (1) Every registered person shall display his certificate of registration in a prominent location at his principal place of business and at every additional place or place of business.

(2) Every registered person shall display his Goods and Services Tax Identification Number on the name board exhibited at the entry of his principal place of business and at every additional place or place of business.

Penalty for non-display of GST number at declared place of business was imposed under ‘General Penalty’ Section 125 of CGST Act 2017, Any person, who contravenes any of the provisions of this Act or any rules made thereunder for which no penalty is separately provided for in this Act, shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to twenty-five thousand rupees.

Expected Compliance:  The above rule clearly says that every registered person shall display his certificate of registration at his principal place of business and at every additional place or place of business. It is also required to display his GSTIN on the name board which should be exhibited at the entry of his principal place of business and at every additional place or place of business.

Penalty: Section 125 of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 read with relevant provisions of SGST/UTGST Act, prescribes a general penalty for contravention of any of the provisions of the Act or the Rules made thereunder. Therefore, a registered taxable person who does not follow the provisions contained in Rule 18 will be liable for a penalty that may extend to Rs. 50,000/- [Rs. 25,000/- as per CGST Act + Rs. 25,000/- as per SGST Act].

To conclude this article, I just wanted to say that if you are taking registration under GST in the state, then no matter whether it is voluntary or compulsory or under composition scheme you have to mandatorily display GSTIN on Board.