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Rule 18 of the CGST Rules, 2017

From the IndiaAuditLens Law Library

GST›CGST Rules, 2017›Chapter III, Registration

At a glance

Bars, duties and time limits

  • Rule 18(1)The registered person must display the registration certificate prominently at the principal place of business and every additional place.
  • Rule 18(2)The identification number must appear on the name board at the entry of the principal and every additional place of business.

Procedure, powers and definitions

  • Rule 18(1)The law does not settle what location is prominent or specify a visibility or placement threshold.

Every registered person must make the registration certificate and Goods and Services Tax Identification Number visible at business premises. Rule 18 requires the certificate at a prominent location and the identification number on the name board at the entry. Both requirements extend to the principal place of business and every additional place, although the rule does not define prominence.[1]

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 18, verbatim (show)

Rule 18. Display of registration certificate and Goods and Services Tax Identification Number on the name board. -

(1) Every registered person shall display his certificate of registration in a prominent location at his principal place of business and at every additional place or places of business.

(2) Every registered person shall display his Goods and Services Tax Identification Number on the name board exhibited at the entry of his principal place of business and at every additional place or places of business.

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.

Certificate display at the selected place 18(1)

Questions to answer on the file4 questions
Ticks stay in this browser only.

GSTIN name board at the selected place 18(2)

Questions to answer on the file4 questions
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Provisions connected to Rule 18
ProvisionConnectionWords that tie them
Section 164 of the CGST Act, 2017Section 164 of the CGST Act, 2017 prescribed by this provisionGeneral rule-making context; 18(1) "Every registered person shall display his certificate of registration"; no express enabling-section cross-reference in the rule
Section 2 of the CGST Act, 2017this provision defined by Section 2 of the CGST Act, 2017 clauses (85), (89), (94)18(1) "registered person"; 18(1) "principal place of business"; 18(1) "places of business"

Circulars and notifications

No circular or notification in the CBIC repository is recorded as citing this rule.

Unsettled questions

The words of Rule 18 do not answer this question. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.

  1. What makes the physical location of the displayed registration certificate prominent at a business premise? The rule supplies no visibility or placement threshold.

See also

References

  1. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Rule 18. Display of registration certificate and Goods and Services Tax Identification Number on the name board". Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, CBIC tax information portal. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

External links