What a GSTIN is
A GSTIN is the 15-character GST registration number of a business. In Aicountly Manage, you can enter it in the Legal identifiers section when you add or edit a company. Aicountly Manage uses these numbers to stop the same company being registered twice. A company with several GST registrations, for example in different states, can enter all of them.
What the 15 characters mean
- The first two digits are the state code.
- The next 13 characters are letters or digits. In most cases characters 3 to 12 are the company's PAN.
- The last character is a check character. It is worked out from the first 14, so it catches typing mistakes.
An example of the right shape is 27AAPFU0939F1ZV.
Before you start
- Keep the GST registration certificate or a GST return at hand so you can copy the number exactly.
- You need permission to edit the company. If the fields are greyed out, ask the company owner.
Enter a GSTIN
- Open Add Company to create a company, or open the company and choose Edit Company.
- Scroll to the Legal identifiers card.
- If you know it, type the company's PAN in the PAN field. A PAN is 10 characters: 5 letters, 4 digits, 1 letter, for example AAACA1234A.
- Type the number in GSTIN(s). To enter more than one, separate them with commas.
- Select Save.
If a GSTIN is refused
Aicountly Manage tells you what is wrong next to the field:
- “must be 15 characters”: the number is too short or too long, or has a symbol. It needs a two-digit state code followed by 13 letters or digits.
- “does not add up”: the last character does not match the rest. Compare each character with your certificate, especially similar ones such as 0 and O, or 1 and I.
- “Each GSTIN should contain the PAN above”: characters 3 to 12 of the GSTIN are a PAN that differs from the one you typed. Correct the PAN or the GSTIN.
When you enter several numbers, the message names the GSTIN that has the problem. A GSTIN registered by a tax deductor is built on a TAN instead of a PAN. Aicountly Manage accepts it, and does not compare it with the PAN field.
If the company is already registered
If a company with the same identifier already exists, Aicountly Manage shows a notice listing the matching companies. You can request access to the existing company or acknowledge the notice before carrying on.