Uttar Pradesh continues the lead in the total number of GST assesses at the end of the first seven months of the current fiscal with over 22.68 lakh assesses. It is followed by Maharashtra and Gujarat. UP has also recorded higher growth than the national average. However, Haryana recorded the highest growth rate with over 13 per cent.
According to data available on the GST portal, as of October 31, the total number of GST assesses was 1.71 crore, as against around 1.57 crore on October 31 last year, showing an addition of over 14 lakhs during the April-October period. During this period, among States/UT, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra both added over twoakh assesses, while Tamil Nadu and Karnataka followed them with around 96,000 and 83,000 additions.
State-wise growth
Similarly, during this period, the national average growth rate in terms of assesses’ addition was around 9.5 per cent, while UP recorded a growth rate of over 10 per cent. For Maharashtra, it was over 11 per cent. However, Haryana registered the highest growth rate among the top 10 States and Union Territories, at over 13.6 percent.
Registration is presently being granted by the system within three working days, with no officer involved, for applicants assessed as low risk and for those whose output tax on supplies to registered persons will not exceed ₹2.5 lakh a month. 61 per cent of registrations already come through this automated route. The remaining 39 per cent go to an officer.
Now, after the 57th meeting of the Council took place earlier last month, the registration process has been further simplified. Accordingly, the application form will guide the applicant, show him only the fields that apply to him and map each document to the purpose it serves. All these measures are likely to further boost the number of assesses.
At the same time, State governments are also initiating measures to get more businesses registered. For example, UP’s State Tax department initiated structured interactions with trade associations and market bodies under the Samvad Karyakram, which enabled systematic identification of enterprises operating outside the tax net.
This ground intelligence has been further strengthened through multi-department data convergence with labour, mining, transport, drug administration, power departments, etc., as well as high-frequency insights from payment gateways and digital commerce platforms, substantially expanding the pool of potential registrants, said state officials.
AI-enabled risk engines
The state is also using AI-enabled risk engines capable of detecting non-compliance patterns, unregistered business activity and input–output mismatches across supply chains. Machine Learning models will then generate predictive signals of potential registrants, drawing on high-frequency datasets such as e-way bills, digital payments, logistics records and consumption indicators, officials added.
It may be added that under GST, taxpayers are divided between CGST and SGST officers, based on a formula decided by the GST Council to ensure a single interface. The division of assesses between the Centre and States is decided based on the turnover of the assesses on a proportionate basis. The assesses having turnover above ₹1.5 crore are to be assigned in the ratio of 50:50 between the Centre and the respective State, while those with a turnover under ₹1.5 crore must be assigned in the ratio of 10:90, with the balance tilting towards the States.
