One Firm, Five Registrations, Worked
Chapter Seventeen
Syllabus topic 2, 3, 4, 5, "Application and Registration procedure of Digital Signature."; "PAN & TAN application for business Under The Income Tax Act, 1961."; "Business Registration under UDYAM / UDYOG AADHAR."; "Business Registration under Goods and Service Tax Laws."
Pages 38 to 40 of 80
The firm
Shirke and Deshpande is formed on 5 April 2027 by Shri A. R. Shirke and Shri P. M. Deshpande. It will manufacture and sell steel furniture from a rented workshop in Pune. Expected investment in plant Rs. 1.80 crore. Expected turnover in the first year Rs. 62 lakh, of which about Rs. 9 lakh will be to buyers in Gujarat. It will employ four workers from July 2027 and one manager on Rs. 45,000 a month. Neither partner holds a PAN in the firm's name and the firm has no registrations at all.
Set out, in order, the registrations the firm must obtain, with the provision that requires each and the time within which it must be done.
Step 1: PAN for the firm
Why first. Every other registration asks for it. Section 25(6) of the CGST Act says a person must have a PAN to be eligible for GST registration. The Udyam notification links investment and turnover to the PAN. Form 49B for TAN asks for the firm's PAN.
Why the firm must have one. Section 262(1)(b) of the Income-tax Act 2025: a person carrying on a business whose total sales, turnover or gross receipts are or are likely to exceed Rs. 5,00,000 in any tax year must apply. Rs. 62 lakh is likely.
How. Form 49A, through Protean or UTIITSL, with the partnership deed as proof of identity and address of the firm, signed by a partner. No photograph, because a firm has no face.
Result. A ten-character PAN whose fourth character is F.
Note what does not happen. The partners' own PANs are not enough. A partnership firm is a separate person under section 2(77)(d) and it needs its own.
Step 2: Digital Signature Certificate for a partner
Why here. A partnership firm may sign the GST application by electronic verification code, so a certificate is not strictly compulsory for it. It becomes necessary the moment the firm bids in a tender, and it is convenient for income-tax filing once the accounts are audited.
How. Application under section 35(1) of the Information Technology Act 2000 to a licensed Certifying Authority, Class 3, in the name of Shri A. R. Shirke, with the firm's PAN, the partnership deed and an authorisation letter signed by Shri P. M. Deshpande.
Result. A certificate issued to the named partner, held in a USB token. Not to the firm: a firm cannot hold one.
Step 3: Udyam registration
Why here. It needs the PAN and, in practice, the GSTIN, but a new enterprise may register before it has a GSTIN and complete the information later under paragraph 6(6).
The classification. Investment Rs. 1.80 crore, turnover Rs. 62 lakh, so Rs. 0.62 crore.
One Firm, Five Registrations, Worked
| Figure | Micro ceiling from 1 April 2025 | Within? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investment | Rs. 1.80 crore | Rs. 2.50 crore | Yes |
| Turnover | Rs. 0.62 crore | Rs. 10.00 crore | Yes |
Both within, so the firm is a micro enterprise.
How. On the Udyam Registration portal, free, with nothing uploaded. The Aadhaar is that of the managing partner, under paragraph 6(4), validated by one-time password, and the firm's PAN is entered and validated.
Result. A permanent Udyam Registration Number and an electronic Udyam Registration Certificate.
Step 4: GST registration
Why the firm must register, and it is not the threshold. Turnover of Rs. 62 lakh exceeds the Rs. 40 lakh threshold for a supplier dealing exclusively in goods, so section 22 catches it anyway.
But it would have been caught even at Rs. 6 lakh. The firm sells to buyers in Gujarat, so it makes an inter-State taxable supply, and section 24(i) requires registration notwithstanding section 22(1), whatever the turnover.
When. Section 25(1): within thirty days from the date on which it becomes liable.
Where. In Maharashtra only. The Gujarat sales are inter-State supplies made from Maharashtra; they do not create a place of business in Gujarat, so no Gujarat registration is needed.
How. Form GST REG-01, Part A with PAN, mobile and email; Part B with the constitution, the workshop as the principal place of business with the rent agreement, the PAN, Aadhaar and photograph of both partners, the authorised signatory, and the bank details. Aadhaar authentication, or physical verification of the premises if it is not done.
Result. Registration in Form GST REG-06 and a fifteen-character GSTIN beginning 27, the Maharashtra State code, with the firm's PAN at positions 3 to 12.
Step 5: TAN
Why, and from when. The firm hires a manager on Rs. 45,000 a month from July 2027, which is Rs. 5,40,000 a year, above the amount not chargeable to tax, so the firm must deduct tax from his salary. Section 397(1)(a) of the Income-tax Act 2025 then requires it to apply for a TAN.
Not before July. A firm that deducts nothing needs no TAN, and applying early serves nothing.
How. Form 49B, no documents, giving the firm's PAN and the name, designation and PAN of the partner responsible for deduction.
And one more duty. Section 397(2) makes the deduction fall at a higher rate if the manager does not furnish his PAN, so the firm must obtain it before the first payment.
The order, and why it cannot be rearranged
| Step | Registration | Depends on | Time limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PAN of the firm | Nothing | Before the others; the Act prescribes the time |
| 2 | Digital Signature Certificate | Firm's PAN, partnership deed | When first needed |
| 3 | Udyam | Firm's PAN | Voluntary, but do it early for the benefits |
| 4 | GST | Firm's PAN, section 25(6) | Thirty days from becoming liable, section 25(1) |
| 5 | TAN | Firm's PAN, and the PAN of the responsible partner | Before the first deduction |
One Firm, Five Registrations, Worked
Every arrow points back to the PAN. That is the single fact this worked example exists to fix.
What Module II adds
Four workers from July 2027 brings the firm within two more statutes, and both partners come within a third. Profession tax, provident fund and state insurance are Module II, and the chapter that closes it puts all eight registrations in one list with the deadline on each.
The rest of this subject
These notes are cut from the University's printed syllabus. Open the syllabus itself, or the past papers, for the same subject.