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Rule 13 of the CGST Rules, 2017

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GST›CGST Rules, 2017›Chapter III, Registration

At a glance

Entitlement and conditions

Rule 13(2)The portal provides a temporary reference number for the section 27 advance tax deposit. Electronic acknowledgement follows only after the deposit in the electronic cash ledger.

Procedure, powers and definitions

Rule 13(1)The applicant submits FORM GST REG-09 with a self-attested valid passport copy at least five days before business starts. An entity incorporated or established outside India furnishes its tax identification number, government unique number or Permanent Account Number if available.
Rule 13(3)–(4)Rules 9 and 10 apply with corresponding changes. The authorised signatory must reside in India, hold a valid Permanent Account Number and sign or electronically verify the application.
Rule 13(1), (3) and (4)The law does not settle whether the foreign entity identification route replaces passport evidence, which corresponding procedural changes are needed, or the test for the authorised signatory’s residence in India.

A non-resident taxable person applies through FORM GST REG-09 at least five days before business starts. The rule requires passport evidence and gives a distinct identification route for an entity established outside India, without expressly explaining their overlap. A resident authorised signatory with a valid Permanent Account Number signs or verifies the application. Acknowledgement follows the advance tax deposit.^[1]

Quick facts

Rule 13, CGST Rules, 2017

Grant of registration to non-resident taxable person

Provision
Act	Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017
Chapter	III, Registration
Rule title	Grant of registration to non-resident taxable person
Amendments
Last amendment	27 June 2017: (Notification No. 7/2017-CT dated 27.06.2017)
Amendments	1 footnote in the CBIC text (table)
Related provisions
Other rules	Rule 8, Rule 9, Rule 10
Sections	Section 25 of the CGST Act, 2017, Section 27 of the CGST Act, 2017
Forms named	FORM GST REG-09
Structure 13(1)Non-resident application in the stated form 13(1)Electronic submission channel 13(1) and provisoPassport and overseas-business identification 13(1)Application before commencement 13(2)Advance deposit and electronic acknowledgement 13(3)Verification and grant with corresponding changes 13(1), 13(4)Authorised signatory and authentication of application
Source
Law text	CBIC tax information portal, served on 17 September 2026^[1]
Questions reviewed	Prashant Prakash, 23 September 2026

Text

The text below is the rule as served by the CBIC tax information portal on 17 September 2026, with the portal's own amendment footnote markers (shown as small numerals before a bracket) and its footnotes.^[1] The Rules as published in the Gazette of India is the legal source.

Rule 13, verbatim (show)

Rule 13. Grant of registration to non-resident taxable person. -

(1) A non-resident taxable person shall electronically submit an application, along with a self-attested copy of his valid passport, for registration, duly signed or verified through electronic verification code, in FORM GST REG-09, at least five days prior to the commencement of business at the common portal either directly or through a Facilitation Centre notified by the Commissioner:

Provided that in the case of a business entity incorporated or established outside India, the application for registration shall be submitted along with its tax identification number or unique number on the basis of which the entity is identified by the Government of that country or its Permanent Account Number, if available.

(2) A person applying for registration as a non-resident taxable person shall be given a temporary reference number by the common portal for making an advance deposit of tax in accordance with the provisions of section 27 and the acknowledgement under sub-rule (5) of rule 8 shall be issued electronically only after the said deposit in his electronic cash ledger.

(3) The provisions of rule 9 and rule 10 relating to the verification and the grant of registration shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to an application submitted under this rule.

(4) The application for registration made by a non-resident taxable person shall be ¹[duly signed or verified through electronic verification code] by his authorised signatory who shall be a person resident in India having a valid Permanent Account Number.

1. Substituted (w.e.f. 22.06.2017) vide Notification No. 7/2017-CT dated 27.06.2017 for "signed"

Questions to answer on the file

Questions a reviewer answers from the engagement file, grouped by the part of the rule they come from. They describe what the rule asks; they do not decide it.

Non-resident application in the stated form 13(1)

Questions to answer on the file3 questions

Which rule 13 matter is under examination: electronically submit an application, a self-attested copy of his valid passport, an advance deposit of tax, verification and the grant of registration or his authorised signatory?
Is the applicant a non-resident taxable person?
Is the application in FORM GST REG-09?

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Electronic submission channel 13(1)

Questions to answer on the file5 questions

Was the application submitted electronically?
Was the application submitted at the common portal?
Was the application submitted directly?
Was the application submitted through a Facilitation Centre?
Was that Facilitation Centre notified by the Commissioner?

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Passport and overseas-business identification 13(1) and proviso

Questions to answer on the file9 questions

Is the applicant a business entity incorporated or established outside India?
Was a copy of the applicant passport submitted with the application?
Was that passport valid at submission?
Was the submitted passport copy self-attested?
Was the overseas entity tax identification number submitted with the application?
Was the government identification unique number for the overseas entity submitted with the application?
Is a Permanent Account Number available for the applicant entity?
Was that applicant entity Permanent Account Number submitted with the application?
Does the passport requirement remain applicable to this overseas business entity after applying the proviso?

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Application before commencement 13(1)

Questions to answer on the file3 questions

On what date was the application submitted?
On what date did business commence or is it to commence?
What is the date five days before commencement?

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Advance deposit and electronic acknowledgement 13(2)

Questions to answer on the file6 questions

Was a temporary reference number given by the common portal for the advance deposit?
Was the advance deposit in accordance with section 27?
Was the advance deposit credited to this person electronic cash ledger?
Was the acknowledgement under rule 8(5) issued?
Was the acknowledgement issued electronically?
Was that acknowledgement issued only after the advance deposit was credited?

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Verification and grant with corresponding changes 13(3)

Questions to answer on the file4 questions

Was the application subjected to the applicable rule 9 verification procedure?
Was registration granted on this application?
If so: was the applicable rule 10 grant procedure followed?
Are the proposed corresponding changes appropriate for applying those procedures to this application?

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Authorised signatory and authentication of application 13(1), 13(4)

Questions to answer on the file5 questions

Was the application duly signed by the actor?
Was the application verified through electronic verification code by the actor?
Is that actor the applicant authorised signatory?
Is that authorised signatory resident in India?
Does that signatory hold a valid Permanent Account Number?

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Amendment history

The CBIC text carries 1 footnote. The table gives each in the source's own terms. Effective dates are as the footnotes state them.^[1]

Amendments to Rule 13 as footnoted in the CBIC text
Note	Instrument
1	Notification No. 7/2017-CT dated 27.06.2017^[2]

Provisions connected to Rule 13
Provision	Connection	Words that tie them
Section 25 of the CGST Act, 2017	Section 25 of the CGST Act, 2017 subsection (7) prescribed by this provision	13(1) "A non-resident taxable person"; 13(1) "along with a self-attested copy of his valid passport"; section 25(7)'s prescribed-document route, not an express Act citation in rule 13
Section 27 of the CGST Act, 2017	13(2) requires Section 27 of the CGST Act, 2017	13(2) "an advance deposit of tax in accordance with the provisions of section 27"
Rule 8	13(2) requires Rule 8 sub-rule (5)	13(2) "the acknowledgement under sub-rule (5) of rule 8"
Rule 9	13(3) requires Rule 9	13(3) "The provisions of rule 9 and rule 10 relating to the verification and the grant of registration"
Rule 10	13(3) requires Rule 10	13(3) "shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to an application submitted under this rule"

Circulars and notifications

Circulars and notifications in the CBIC repository that cite this rule, newest first, by number, date and subject. A listing here does not say what an instrument decides; read the instrument.

Notifications (2)

Number	Date	Subject
Notification No. 07/2017-Central Tax	27 June 2017	Notification No. 7/2017- Central Tax amending Notification No. 3/2017- Central Tax has been issued
Notification No. 03/2017-Central Tax	19 June 2017	Notifying the CGST Rules, 2017 on registration and composition levy amended by a later instrument

Unsettled questions

The words of Rule 13 do not answer these questions. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.

For a business entity incorporated or established outside India, does the proviso's tax identification, government unique number or available PAN route replace the opening passport-copy requirement, or is some passport evidence also required? The proviso does not expressly state replacement or whose passport an entity would supply.
Which corresponding changes to Rule 9 verification and Rule 10 grant or certificate procedures are needed for the selected special registration application under Rules 11, 13 or 16? Each invokes mutatis mutandis without enumerating those changes.
What test establishes that the authorised signatory is resident in India for rule 13(4), which supplies no day-count threshold or reference to an income-tax residence test?

See also

Section 27 of the CGST Act, 2017: special provisions relating to casual taxable person and non-resident taxable person
Rule 9 of the CGST Rules, 2017: verification of the application and approval
Rule 10 of the CGST Rules, 2017: issue of registration certificate

References

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Rule 13. Grant of registration to non-resident taxable person". Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, CBIC tax information portal, with amendment footnotes 1 to 1. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
Notification No. 07/2017-Central Tax, dated 27 June 2017: Notification No. 7/2017- Central Tax amending Notification No. 3/2017- Central Tax has been issued. Cited in CBIC footnote 1.

External links

CGST Rules, 2017, Rule 13 on the CBIC tax information portal