The Maharashtra government in a trade circular has asked all those who have received the 15-digit Goods and Services Taxpayer Identification Number (GSTIN) to display the number on the board and certificate of registration at a prominent location at the business premises. Failing to which, the state government says, the person will be liable for penalty of up to Rs25,000.
The trade circular (43T of 2017) issued on 25 September 2017 by Rajiv Jalota, Commissioner of Sales Tax, Maharashtra states, “…every registered person should display certificate of registration at his principal place of business and at every additional place or places of business. It is also required to display his GSTIN on the name of board which should be exhibited at the entry of the his principal place of business and at every additional place or places of business. The GSTIN should be prominently displayed in bold letter so as to be easily visible to visitors, especially to the customers/ vendees.”
Rule 18 of the Maharashtra Goods and Service Tax (MSGT) Rules, 2017 mandates display of GSTIN on the name board.
“Rule 18- Display of registration certificate and Goods and Service Tax Identification Number on the name board –
•Every registered person shall display his certificate of registration in a prominent location at his principal place of business and that every additional place or places of business.
•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 places of business.”
Additionally, as per the circular, there is a penalty of Rs10,000 on issuance of incorrect tax invoice. Rule 5(1)(f) of the MGST Rules says that every registered person exercising the option to pay tax under section 10 of the MGST Act i.e. every registered person opting under the composition scheme shall mention the words ‘Composition taxable person not eligible to collect tax on supplies’ at the top of the bill of supply issued by him.
Under Rule 46(b) of the MGST Rules, the person is expected to issue an invoice in unique and consecutive serial number. “However, many a times, it is seen that the invoices are not numbered in a serial manner but are randomly numbered or not numbered at all. It is to be noted that the same is against the provision of the Act and not following the provisions will attract penalty under section 122(1)(i) of the MGST Act, 2017. It is also to be noted that any deviation from the provisions will be taken seriously,” the trade circular says.
Under Section 122 (1)(i), the penalty is Rs10,000.
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