How to check if a GST number is active

Step by step on the GST portal

1. Open www.gst.gov.in. You do not need to log in.
2. Go to Search Taxpayer, then Search by GSTIN/UIN.
3. Enter the 15-character GSTIN, type the captcha and click Search.
4. Read the result: legal name, trade name, effective date of registration, constitution of business, GSTIN/UIN status, taxpayer type, administrative office, principal place of business and nature of business activities.
5. Click Show Filing Table to see which returns were filed, for which period and on what date.

If the result says "No records found", the GSTIN does not exist. Check the number with the GSTIN validator; a single wrong character usually breaks the check digit.

Reading the result properly

• Status: Active is what you want. See GST registration status meanings for the others.
• Legal name and trade name: must match the business on the purchase order. A different name is the most common sign that something is off.
• Effective date of registration: a registration a few weeks old, placing a large credit order, deserves caution.
• Taxpayer type: Regular or Composition. A composition dealer cannot charge GST or pass on input credit.
• Filing table: recent GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B. A gap of several months is a warning sign; see GST return filing status check.

Why check before giving credit

Selling on credit to a business whose registration has been cancelled creates two problems. Your invoice carries a GSTIN that is no longer valid, so the buyer may not get credit and has a ready excuse to delay or dispute payment. And a cancelled registration often means the business has stopped trading or is under action by the tax department, which is exactly when unpaid invoices become hard to recover.

Check at onboarding, and again before any large order, because status can change. A registration can be suspended once cancellation proceedings start, for example for not filing returns.

Worked example

A Surat textile trader has supplied a Delhi buyer for a year. Before dispatching a ₹6,80,000 order on 45 days' credit, the trader runs the GSTIN on the portal: status Suspended, with GSTR-3B not filed for the last three periods. The trader holds the dispatch and asks for payment against delivery. Two months later the registration shows as Cancelled. The earlier invoices had all been paid; the new one would have been the problem.

FundRaksha Trust shows the status, name, registration date and filing record together, so the same check takes seconds and can be repeated before every large order.