From 1 November 2026, filing a GST registration amendment in FORM GST REG-14 no longer means your application is submitted. If the amendment changes the details of a promoter, partner, director or authorised signatory, the application is submitted — and its Acknowledgement Reference Number (ARN) generated — only after two people verify it by OTP: the Primary Authorised Signatory and one promoter, partner or director. If both do not verify within 3 days, the application lapses entirely, no ARN is generated, and you must start again with a fresh application.
Quick answer: Under GSTN Advisory 686 dated 1 November 2026, a FORM GST REG-14 amendment that changes promoter, partner, director or authorised signatory details is submitted, and its ARN generated, only after OTP verification by both the Primary Authorised Signatory and one promoter, partner or director; if both do not verify within 3 days, the application lapses and must be filed afresh.
The change comes from GSTN Advisory 686, titled "Revised process of amendment in GST Registration", dated 1 November 2026. It implements the amended amendment-of-registration provisions under Rule 19 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Rules, 2017, made through Notification No. 05/2026-Central Tax — the same notification that drove the revised REG-01 registration form covered earlier on this site. For business owners, the practical message is blunt: the amendment is not "filed" when you click through the form. It is filed when the second OTP goes in.
What exactly changed
Under the earlier process described in the advisory, the amendment application was generated on submission and then sent to the proper officer for approval. The taxpayer's job effectively ended at the submit button. That is no longer true for amendments touching the people who control the business.
The advisory draws the new line precisely: the updated procedure applies if the amendment includes changes in the details of Promoters, Partners or Directors, or of the Authorised Signatory. For those amendments, the sequence is now verification first, submission second:
- File the amendment application in FORM GST REG-14 as before — but note that filing does not submit it. At this stage the application is not yet submitted, and no ARN exists.
- Open the 'Track Application Status' tab on the GST portal. This is where the verification links for both required persons appear.
- Both persons click their verification links. The Primary Authorised Signatory (PAS) and the selected promoter, partner or director each receive OTPs on their registered mobile numbers and email IDs.
- Both OTP verifications must succeed. Only after the PAS and the selected promoter, partner or director have both verified does the application get submitted — and only then is the ARN generated.
The advisory is explicit about failure: if the amendment application is not verified within 3 days, it will lapse; it will not be submitted, the ARN will not be generated, and the applicant must file a fresh amendment application. There is no extension, no revival and no partial credit for one of the two verifications — the advisory states the application is submitted only after verification by both.
⚠️ The 3-day trap: The 3 days run from filing, and the application simply lapses if either verifier does not act. If your promoter is travelling, or the registered mobile number or email ID of either person is outdated, the amendment dies quietly — and you re-file from scratch. Check both persons' registered contact details before you file, not after.
Old vs new: REG-14 amendment process
Who is affected
Every GST-registered person that needs to amend its registration where the change touches the people behind the business: a new director joining, a partner leaving, a promoter's details changing, or a change of authorised signatory. Companies, LLPs, partnership firms and proprietorships with authorised signatories all fall within the advisory's wording where their amendment changes these details.
The change bites hardest in three situations. First, businesses where the Primary Authorised Signatory and the promoters are different people in different places — both must act within the same 3-day window. Second, businesses whose registered mobile numbers or email IDs are stale: the OTPs go to the registered contacts, so an old phone number means the verification cannot be completed at all. Third, any amendment filed just before a holiday or a director's travel — the 3 days do not pause, and the advisory provides no grace period.
One boundary matters: the advisory ties the new verification step to amendments that change promoter, partner, director or authorised signatory details. It does not state that the OTP step applies to other kinds of REG-14 amendments, such as a change of business address or additional place of business. Do not assume the step applies — or does not apply — to those; the advisory is silent on them, and this article does not fill that gap.
What to do next: a practical checklist
- Before filing, confirm both verifiers and their contacts. Identify who the Primary Authorised Signatory is and which promoter, partner or director will verify, and confirm that the mobile numbers and email IDs registered for both on the GST portal are current and accessible.
- Warn both verifiers in advance. Tell them the OTP links will arrive, that both must act, and that the window is 3 days from filing — not from when they notice the message.
- File the REG-14 amendment, then immediately open 'Track Application Status'. Do not wait for an email or SMS to tell you what to do; the verification links live under that tab.
- Complete both OTP verifications the same day. The application submits and the ARN generates only after the second verification. Save the ARN — it is the proof that the amendment is actually in the system.
- If the 3 days pass unverified, do not chase the old application. The advisory says it lapses and is not submitted. File a fresh amendment application and run the verification steps again.
- Keep the ARN and the verification trail. If the proper officer later queries the amendment, the ARN is the reference that shows the application was duly submitted.
Two things the advisory does not change, and readers should not misread. First, it does not say anything about what happens after the ARN is generated — it does not describe any change to subsequent officer processing, so no conclusion should be drawn there. Second, it does not change the underlying amendment provisions themselves beyond the process described; the substantive question of what can be amended in REG-14 is governed by Rule 19 and the notification, not by this advisory.
Why GSTN did this
The advisory does not spell out a policy rationale, and this article does not invent one. What the design plainly does is put a two-person lock on changes to the people who control a GST registration: no single person can push through a change of promoter, director or authorised signatory on their own, because the amendment cannot even be submitted until two separately registered contacts confirm it by OTP. For businesses, that is a fraud control with a compliance cost — the cost being the 3-day clock. Treat the clock as the real deadline, not the filing date.
Frequently asked questions
Does every GST REG-14 amendment now need OTP verification? No — on the advisory's own wording, the new verification step applies if the amendment includes changes in the details of promoters, partners, directors or the authorised signatory. The advisory does not state that it applies to other amendment types.
Who exactly must verify a REG-14 amendment? Two people: the Primary Authorised Signatory and one promoter, partner or director. Both must complete OTP verification; the application is submitted only after both have verified.
Where do I find the verification links? After filing the amendment application, open the 'Track Application Status' tab on the GST portal. The verification links for both persons appear there.
Where are the OTPs sent? To the registered mobile numbers and email IDs of the Primary Authorised Signatory and the selected promoter, partner or director.
When is the ARN generated for a REG-14 amendment now? Only after successful OTP verification by both required persons. Filing the form alone does not generate an ARN for amendments in scope.
What happens if verification is not completed within 3 days? The application lapses. It is not submitted, no ARN is generated, and you must file a fresh amendment application.
Can I revive a lapsed REG-14 amendment application? Not under this advisory. A lapsed application must be replaced with a fresh filing, with both OTP verifications completed within the new 3-day window.
From when does the new REG-14 process apply? The advisory says taxpayers should follow the new procedure for filing amendment applications with effect from 1 November 2026, and it is dated 1 November 2026.
Sources
- GSTN Advisory 686 — "Revised process of amendment in GST Registration", dated 1 November 2026 (primary source)
- GSTN Advisory 681 — "Important Changes in FORM GST REG-01 for GST Registration", dated 1 November 2026 (related: same notification, registration side)
Note: this article reports only what GSTN Advisory 686 states. Points the advisory does not address — such as whether the OTP step extends to amendment types other than promoter/signatory changes, and what happens after ARN generation — are marked as not covered rather than assumed.
