The Centre’s new fast-track goods and services tax (GST) registration scheme, rolled out on November 1, has resulted in a spike in automatic approvals, with 142,000 applications cleared electronically in the first 15 days of the month, official sources told Business Standard. These account for more than two-thirds of all registrations issued in the period.
Overall, over 217,000 GST registrations were granted in the new regime. Nearly 66 per cent of these registrations, “those falling under the new scheme, were approved within 24 hours, with the fastest registration being processed in 21 minutes. The first registration under the new system was issued at 12.16 pm on November 1,” said a GSTN source.
In its 56th meeting in September, the GST Council had approved the scheme to make the GST registration process easier, seamless, and more transparent by design. From November 1, 2025, the Simplified GST Registration Scheme granted automatic registration within three working days in two cases: applicants whom the system identifies based on data analysis, and those who self assess that their output tax liability will not exceed ₹ 2.5 lakh per month. “This single reform is expected to benefit 96 per cent of new applicants,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said last month.
According to officials, the revised GST onboarding process has significantly restructured the pace at which new taxpayers can enter the system. “Initial feedback from officers shows that the new registration process is running smoothly,” one of the officials said. “Small businesses and professionals are getting GST registration numbers within 24 hours since the Centre rolled out the new scheme on November 1. Most of the professionals like chartered accountants, freelancers, and other consultants are covered under this scheme,” said vice president, Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME).
According to an tax expert, the scheme is a great initiative by the government to help small taxpayers. “I have experienced the process, which is working efficiently and effectively before the committed time. The community is very happy with the step,” he said.
“After GST 2.0 was implemented, we are witnessing faster GST registration being granted to businesses. This is much better — registrations are now granted in just a few days, and sometimes in a few hours — than earlier years, wherein registration used to take a couple of weeks,” another tax expert said.
