GSTN announced significant enhancements to the address-related fields in various GST registration functionalities
On July 4, 2024, the GSTN announced significant enhancements to the address-related fields in various GST registration functionalities, including New Registration, Amendment Application (Core & Non-Core), and Geocoding Business Addresses. These improvements, driven by ticket analysis and user feedback, aim to streamline the address entry process. Here are the detailed updates:
1. Updated Validations for Address Entry
Address Within India:
Interlinked Fields: The PIN Code, State, District, and City/Town/Village fields are now interconnected, requiring selection from autosuggestions.
Special Characters: In addition to alphanumeric characters, taxpayers can use limited special characters such as Hyphen (-), Forward Slash (/), Ampersand (&), Comma (,), Apostrophes (‘), Hash (#), Period (.), Small Brackets (), Inverted Commas (“”), Colon (:), Semi-Colon (;), Underscore (_), and Space. Special characters at the beginning of entries are not permitted.
Example: “123 Main St. #4, Apt (5A)” is acceptable, but “#123 Main St.” is not allowed due to the initial special character.
Address Outside India:
Zip Code, State, District: All values except special characters {} can be entered.
Other Fields: Alphanumeric values and limited special characters are allowed as mentioned above, with no special characters at the beginning except for zip code, district, and state.
2. Improved Instructions
Clear instructions on allowed and disallowed input values for specific fields are now provided. Taxpayers can view these guidelines by hovering over the respective icons.
3. Impact on Existing Data
Existing data in the system, even with now-disallowed special characters, will remain unaffected. However, if a taxpayer files an amendment application and edits address details, the system will validate the address based on the new rules.
4. User Awareness and Support
These enhancements address user confusion regarding allowed characters and editable fields. For instance, taxpayers often added a hash (#) at the beginning of the Building Number field, resulting in application rejections. The help desk has been advising users to remove such characters and resubmit their applications.
5. Applicability
The changes apply to various taxpayer categories, including:
Normal Taxpayers – Regular
SEZ Unit
SEZ Developer
Composition
Input Service Distributor
Casual Taxpayers
6. Locality/Sub-Locality Field
Non-Mandatory: The Locality/Sub-locality field is now optional.
Warning Messages: If left blank or mismatched with the Pin Code, the system prompts users with messages like, “Locality/Sub-locality does not match the Pin Code. Do you want to save the details?” or “You have not filled in Locality/Sub-locality. Do you want to save the details and proceed further?”
Example: Entering Pin Code 123456 without filling in Locality/Sub-locality triggers a message asking if you want to proceed.
These enhancements ensure a smoother and more user-friendly GST registration process, minimizing errors and improving overall efficiency.
To Access the related official update of GSTN in the portal CLICK HERE
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