GST registration cancellation at your own request is applied for in FORM GST REG-16 on the GST portal within 30 days of the event that ends your need for a GSTIN, such as closing or transferring the business. The officer passes the cancellation order in FORM GST REG-19 within 30 days of the application, and you then file the final return, GSTR-10, within three months of the cancellation date or order, whichever is later.
Who can apply for GST registration cancellation?
Section 29(1) of the CGST Act lets you apply when the business is discontinued, transferred, amalgamated or demerged, when the proprietor dies, when the constitution changes, or when you are no longer liable to register. A voluntary registrant can also opt out, and the portal confirms this can be done at any time.
Points to check before you apply:
- Voluntary registrants. The old bar on cancelling within one year of voluntary registration was omitted from rule 20 in January 2018, and since 1 January 2021 section 29(1)(c) expressly covers a person who wants to opt out.
- Mergers and changes of constitution. The transferee entity must already hold a valid GSTIN when you apply, according to the portal's cancellation FAQs. A proprietorship that becomes a company gets a new PAN, so the company registers afresh.
- Death of a sole proprietor. A legal heir can apply (section 29(1)).
- Who cannot use REG-16. Tax deductors, tax collectors and holders of a Unique Identity Number cannot apply, and nobody can apply once the officer has started cancellation proceedings against the GSTIN. You reply to the officer's notice instead.
How to file FORM GST REG-16, step by step
The application is online and is signed with a DSC or EVC. The portal limits the cancellation date you can select to a 30-day window, because rule 20 requires the application within 30 days of the event.
- Log in and open Services, Registration, Application for Cancellation of Registration.
- Confirm the basic details and give an address for future correspondence.
- Choose the reason: change in constitution leading to a change in PAN, ceased to be liable, discontinuance or closure, transfer of business, death of the sole proprietor, or others.
- Enter the date from which cancellation is sought and, for a transfer or change in constitution, the transferee's GSTIN.
- Enter the value of stock and capital goods and the tax on them, and pay it from your electronic cash or credit ledger.
- Sign and submit. An ARN is generated and the GSTIN status changes to "Suspended".
You can withdraw the application while it shows "Pending for Processing". Once submitted, core amendments are blocked, though non-core details can still be changed.
What you pay on cancellation: credit on stock and capital goods
Under section 29(5), you pay the higher of two amounts: the input tax credit on inputs and finished or semi-finished goods in stock, or the output tax on those goods. For capital goods, the credit is cut down to the remaining part of a five-year life, counted in whole months (rule 44), or the tax on their transaction value if that is higher.
Example. Mapleworks Studio, a made-up design firm, closes and holds no stock, only a workstation bought with input tax credit of ₹27,000. It has been used for 1 year, 7 months and 20 days, leaving 40 whole months of the 60-month life. The credit to reverse is ₹27,000 × 40 ÷ 60 = ₹18,000. If the tax on the workstation's transaction value would be ₹10,800, the firm pays the higher figure, ₹18,000, and reports it in REG-16 and GSTR-10.
There is no fee for REG-16 itself in the CGST Rules. If returns are pending, work out the late fee with the GST late fee calculator before you apply.
How long does cancellation take, and what happens to the GSTIN meanwhile?
The officer must pass the order in FORM GST REG-19 within 30 days of your application, cancelling from a date the officer determines and directing you to pay any arrears (rule 22(3)). From the application, or the date cancellation is sought if later, the registration is treated as suspended (rule 21A(1)).
While suspended, you must not issue tax invoices or charge tax (rule 21A(3)), and the portal lets you file returns only for periods before the suspension. Cancellation does not wipe out earlier liabilities: tax and dues for any period before the cancellation date remain payable even if assessed later (section 29(3)). A cancellation under your State GST Act counts under the CGST Act too (section 29(4)).
When is the GSTR-10 final return due?
GSTR-10 is due within three months of the effective date of cancellation or the date of the cancellation order, whichever is later (section 45). Composition taxpayers, input service distributors, non-resident taxable persons and TDS or TCS registrants do not file it.
What the portal's GSTR-10 FAQs add:
- All pending GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B returns must be filed before GSTR-10.
- A nil GSTR-10 is allowed where the facts support it, for example when no stock is held.
- You cannot file it without paying the full liability it shows, and you cannot revise it.
- Any amount paid with REG-16 is set off against the GSTR-10 liability.
A late GSTR-10 attracts a late fee of ₹100 a day, up to ₹5,000, under section 47(1) of the CGST Act, and the same again under your State GST Act. The GST return due dates tool lists every other filing date.
Cancellation by the GST officer
The officer can cancel on his own motion for reasons in section 29(2): breaking the provisions listed in rule 21, such as not conducting business from the declared place or issuing invoices without supply; not filing returns; a voluntary registrant not starting business within six months; or fraud. Notice comes in FORM GST REG-17.
Since 1 October 2022, section 29(2)(c), as amended by the Finance Act 2022, leaves the non-filing period to the rules. Rule 21 sets it at six months in a row for monthly filers and two consecutive tax periods for quarterly filers. A composition taxpayer is exposed once its annual return is more than three months late (section 29(2)(b)).
You reply in FORM GST REG-18 within seven working days (rule 22(1)). If the notice is for non-filing and you file every pending return and pay tax, interest and late fee, the officer drops the proceedings in FORM GST REG-20 (rule 22(4)). The officer can also suspend the GSTIN from the date of the notice.
How do you revoke a cancelled GST registration?
Only a cancellation made by the officer on his own motion can be revoked. Apply in FORM GST REG-21 within 90 days of service of the order; the period can be extended by up to 180 days with reasons (rule 23(1), as amended by Notification 38/2023-Central Tax).
The portal's revocation manual applies these limits in practice:
- Days 1 to 90: file normally. Days 91 to 270: file with a reason for condonation of delay. After 270 days: the only route is an appeal.
- If cancellation was for non-filing, first file the returns and pay tax, interest, penalty and late fee.
- Aadhaar authentication, or uploaded e-KYC documents, is needed before you can file.
- The officer revokes in FORM GST REG-22 within 30 days, or issues a notice in FORM GST REG-23, answered in REG-24 within seven working days. Rejection is in FORM GST REG-05.
- After revocation, file the returns for the gap within 30 days of the order (rule 23).
The 57th GST Council on 8 October 2026 recommended automatic acceptance of REG-16 once all returns are filed and dues paid, and system-based cancellation and revocation for non-filing or missing bank details. These are proposals until notified. If the business itself is closing, the close company finder compares the routes, and you can register for GST again later if needed.
How Ofin handles GST cancellation
Our CAs, CSs and legal professionals file your REG-16, calculate the credit to reverse on stock and capital goods, file GSTR-10 and support you on any officer query. The work is 100% online, with a reply within 24 hours. GST cancellation costs a fixed fee, agreed before we start. Get a fixed-price proposal.
