On www.gst.gov.in, go to Search Taxpayer > Search by PAN, enter the 10-character PAN and the captcha, and click Search. The portal lists every GSTIN registered against that PAN with its state and status. Click any GSTIN to see the full record and filing table. You can also read the PAN out of any GSTIN: it is characters 3 to 12.
Steps on the GST portal
- Open www.gst.gov.in.
- Go to Search Taxpayer, then Search by PAN.
- Enter the PAN in capitals, type the captcha and click Search.
- Read the list: each GSTIN, the state and the status (Active, Cancelled and so on).
- Click a GSTIN to open the full record: legal name, trade name, registration date, address, nature of business and the filing table.
When a PAN search helps
- The buyer gives you a PAN but not a GSTIN, or a GSTIN you cannot match. The PAN search shows which registration belongs to the state you are delivering to.
- A customer orders from a new branch. Check that the branch GSTIN is under the same PAN as the head office you know.
- You want to see whether the group as a whole is healthy: several cancelled GSTINs under one PAN tell a story that one active GSTIN does not.
- You need the right GSTIN on the invoice: bill the registration in the state where goods are delivered or where the buyer wants credit.
Worked example
An Indore packaging supplier gets an order from "a Pune unit" of a company it already supplies in Indore. The GSTIN it knows starts 23 (Madhya Pradesh). It takes the PAN from characters 3 to 12 and runs Search by PAN. The list shows 23…1Z… Active and 27…1Z… Active (Maharashtra), plus 24…1Z… Cancelled (Gujarat). The Pune order is genuine and goes on the 27 GSTIN with IGST, because supply is from Madhya Pradesh to Maharashtra. The cancelled Gujarat registration is noted for the credit file.
Use the GSTIN validator to read any GSTIN's parts, and FundRaksha Trust to see each registration's status and filing record.
Why check before giving credit
Credit is given to a business, not to a branch. If one registration of the group has been cancelled for not filing, or the PAN shows a string of short-lived registrations, that is relevant to how much you should be owed at any time. Put the right GSTIN on every invoice, too: if a dispute or recovery follows, the invoice, the GSTIN and the PAN must all point to the same legal entity.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-21. Information for Indian businesses; not legal advice.