The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has revised FORM GST REG-01, the application form for GST registration, on the GST portal. Under its advisory dated 1 November 2026, the revised form introduces additional information requirements and standardises the documentary requirements for constitution of business, principal and additional places of business, and other registration particulars. The changes implement Notification No. 05/2026-Central Tax dated 26 October 2026 and Circular No. 257/03/2026-GST dated 26 October 2026, and they apply to taxpayers intending to obtain GST registration.
In plain business-owner language: if you are about to apply for GST registration, the form you fill has changed. Keep the right documents ready before you start — especially proof of your business constitution and of your premises — because the portal will now check your company or LLP identification numbers online, and your application reference number (ARN) will only be generated after that check passes.
Quick answer: GSTN revised FORM GST REG-01 on the GST portal under its advisory dated 1 November 2026, implementing Notification No. 05/2026-Central Tax and Circular No. 257/03/2026-GST, both dated 26 October 2026. New applicants must use the revised form, which adds a separate One Person Company category, an SEZ Entity ID field, a Section 9(5) e-commerce operator section, room for up to 10 bank accounts, and online validation of CIN, FCRN, LLPIN and FLLPIN before the ARN is generated.
What changed in FORM GST REG-01
The advisory lists nine important changes. Each one affects what an applicant must enter, upload, or get validated before the application moves forward.
1. One Person Company becomes a separate constitution category
One Person Company (OPC) has been introduced as a separate category under the constitution of business. Applicants must also upload the supporting documents specified against the constitution they select — for example, a Certificate of Incorporation, Partnership Deed, Registration Certificate, or other proof substantiating constitution, as applicable. The practical point is simple: choose the constitution that matches your entity exactly, and keep the matching document ready, because the form now pairs each constitution with its own documentary requirement.
2. New SEZ Entity ID field
A new field for entering the SEZ Entity ID has been introduced for applicants seeking registration as an SEZ Unit or SEZ Developer. If you are registering in that capacity, have the SEZ Entity ID at hand before you begin; the form now asks for it expressly.
3. Separate section for e-commerce operators under Section 9(5)
A separate section has been introduced for applicants seeking registration as an e-commerce operator liable to pay tax under Section 9(5) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Such applicants must furnish details of their physical presence in the State or Union Territory and, where applicable, details of their authorised representative. This matters because Section 9(5) operators — platforms that are made liable to pay tax on specified supplies made through them — now disclose their footprint and representative in a dedicated part of the form rather than through a general field.
4. Existing registrations disclosure revised
The particulars of existing registrations to be furnished in the application have been revised. The revised form specifically provides for disclosure of the GSTIN, the Professional Tax Registration Number and the Professional Tax Enrolment Registration Number, along with other applicable registration particulars. Applicants who already hold registrations should gather these numbers before filing, rather than discovering mid-application that the form asks for them.
5. Premises possession categories standardised
The classification of possession of business premises has been revised and standardised for both the Principal Place of Business (PPoB) and Additional Places of Business (APoB). Separate categories are now provided for owned premises, premises in the name of a deceased ancestor, rented or leased premises, consent-based premises, co-working spaces, and SEZ premises — and the supporting documents required for each category have also been specified. The advisory's advice is direct: select the appropriate category and furnish the prescribed documentary evidence. A mismatch between the category selected and the document uploaded is one of the most avoidable causes of delay in a registration application.
6. Business activities list expanded
The list of business activities has been expanded to include additional categories and disclosures, such as factory registration particulars, Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) details, co-working space, health and fitness clubs, renting or leasing of immovable property, and renting or hiring of motor vehicles, vessels or aircraft. Applicants whose activity falls in one of these newly listed areas should expect the form to ask for the corresponding particulars.
7. Bank account details: up to 10 accounts, or 30 days after registration
Taxpayers must furnish details of their bank accounts, wherever available, at the time of filing FORM GST REG-01. Details of up to 10 bank accounts may be reported. Where bank account details are not available at the time of application, they must be furnished within 30 days from the date of issuance of the registration certificate in FORM GST REG-06. That 30-day window is a deadline, not an optional follow-up: diarise it on the day the certificate arrives.
8. DIN of designated partners for LLPs
In the case of a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), the Director Identification Number (DIN) of the designated partners is required to be furnished in the registration application. LLP applicants should therefore have the designated partners' DINs confirmed before filing.
9. Online validation of identification numbers — ARN only after validation
The Corporate Identification Number (CIN), Foreign Company Registration Number (FCRN), Limited Liability Partnership Identification Number (LLPIN) and Foreign Limited Liability Partnership Identification Number (FLLPIN), wherever applicable, will be validated online by the system. The ARN will be generated only after successful validation of the required information. This is the change with the sharpest practical edge: an error in a CIN or LLPIN — a transposed digit, a number that does not match the MCA record — will now stop the application at the ARN stage instead of surfacing later. Check these numbers against the official records before submitting.
What is new, at a glance
Who is affected
The advisory is addressed to taxpayers intending to obtain registration under GST — in other words, new applicants, not businesses that already hold a GSTIN. Within that group, four categories feel the change most directly: One Person Companies, which now file under their own constitution category; LLPs, which must furnish designated partners' DINs; SEZ Units and SEZ Developers, which must enter the SEZ Entity ID; and e-commerce operators liable under Section 9(5), which must complete the new dedicated section. Every other new applicant is affected more quietly, through the standardised premises categories, the expanded activity list, the bank-account disclosure, and the online ID validation that now gates ARN generation.
Readers who are already registered do not need to re-file under the revised form on the strength of this advisory: it revises the application form for new registrations. If you are already registered and need to change registration particulars, that is a different process — the amendment application in FORM GST REG-14 — which the advisory does not deal with.
What to do next: a filing checklist
- Confirm your constitution and its document. Select the exact constitution category — OPC now has its own — and keep the matching proof ready: Certificate of Incorporation, Partnership Deed, Registration Certificate, or other proof substantiating constitution, as applicable.
- Match your premises category to your document. Decide whether each place of business is owned, in the name of a deceased ancestor, rented or leased, consent-based, a co-working space, or SEZ premises, and keep the document the form prescribes for that category.
- Check every identification number before you type it. Verify the CIN, FCRN, LLPIN or FLLPIN against the official record. The system validates these online, and the ARN is generated only after successful validation — a wrong number stops the application at the start.
- Gather bank details, or diarise the 30-day rule. Report up to 10 bank accounts at filing if available. If no bank details are available at filing, furnish them within 30 days from the date of the REG-06 registration certificate.
- LLPs: confirm designated partners' DINs. Have them ready before opening the form.
- SEZ and Section 9(5) applicants: prepare the new fields. SEZ Units and Developers need the SEZ Entity ID; Section 9(5) e-commerce operators need physical-presence details for the State/UT and, where applicable, authorised representative details.
- Collect existing registration numbers. Keep your GSTIN (if any), Professional Tax Registration Number and Professional Tax Enrolment Number at hand, since the revised form asks for them expressly.
- Review the revised form before submitting. GSTN's own advice is to review the revised FORM GST REG-01 and keep the relevant information and supporting documents ready before initiating an application, so as to ensure accurate and complete filing and avoid delays in processing.
Fee and delay traps to avoid: (1) Do not file with an unchecked CIN or LLPIN — the ARN will not be generated until online validation succeeds, so a typo costs you the whole submission attempt. (2) Do not treat the 30-day bank-details window as open-ended: it runs from the date of the REG-06 certificate, so note the date the certificate is issued. (3) Do not select a premises category whose document you cannot produce — the advisory pairs each category with specified documentary evidence, and a mismatch invites queries and delay.
How this fits with Circular 257 and Notification 05/2026
The advisory expressly refers taxpayers to Notification No. 05/2026-Central Tax dated 26 October 2026 (pages 16 to 42) and Circular No. 257/03/2026-GST dated 26 October 2026 for further details. Circular 257 is the CBIC's registration guidance addressed to applicants — what to fill in FORM GST REG-01, which document proves which kind of premises, and how long the department may take at each stage — and CorpLawUpdates covered it when it was issued. The 1 November advisory is the portal-side companion: it tells applicants what has actually changed inside the form on the GST portal under that notification and circular. Readers working through a first registration should read the two together — the circular for the process and the advisory for the exact fields the portal will now ask for. Related reading: our earlier coverage of GST registration guidelines under Circular 257/2026.
Frequently asked questions
Does the revised REG-01 affect businesses that are already GST-registered?
No. The advisory is addressed to taxpayers intending to obtain registration, and it revises the application form for new registrations. Already-registered taxpayers do not re-apply under the revised form because of this advisory.
What is new for a One Person Company applying for GST registration?
OPC is now a separate category under the constitution of business in FORM GST REG-01, and the applicant must upload the supporting document specified for that constitution, such as the Certificate of Incorporation or other proof substantiating constitution, as applicable.
What happens if my CIN or LLPIN fails online validation?
The CIN, FCRN, LLPIN and FLLPIN are validated online by the system, and the ARN is generated only after successful validation of the required information. Check the number against the official record and correct it before resubmitting.
What if I do not have bank account details when I apply?
Furnish the bank account details, wherever available, at the time of filing; up to 10 accounts may be reported. Where details are not available at filing, they must be furnished within 30 days from the date of issuance of the registration certificate in FORM GST REG-06.
Is this advisory the same as CBIC Circular 257/2026?
No, but they are linked. Circular No. 257/03/2026-GST dated 26 October 2026 is the CBIC's registration guidance, and Notification No. 05/2026-Central Tax of the same date amended the rules and forms. The GSTN advisory dated 1 November 2026 implements those instruments on the portal by revising FORM GST REG-01 itself.
What should an SEZ Unit or SEZ Developer keep ready?
The SEZ Entity ID, which the revised form now asks for in a new field for applicants seeking registration as an SEZ Unit or SEZ Developer.
Sources
- Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), Advisory on Important Changes in FORM GST REG-01 for GST Registration, dated 1 November 2026 (official advisory, read in full).
- Notification No. 05/2026-Central Tax dated 26 October 2026 and Circular No. 257/03/2026-GST dated 26 October 2026, as referred to in the advisory.
- CorpLawUpdates, GST registration guidelines under Circular 257/2026 (related coverage).
Note: every factual claim in this article traces to the GSTN advisory dated 1 November 2026 or to the notification and circular it refers to. Anything the advisory does not cover is not stated as a rule here.
