Aadhaar Authentication in GST Registration: OTP or Biometric
Aadhaar authentication in GST registration is how the portal confirms that the people named in your application are real. Most applicants finish it with an OTP sent to the mobile number linked to Aadhaar. Some are asked to visit a GST Suvidha Kendra for a biometric check and document verification. Either way, you get 15 days.
- Rule 8(4A) of the CGST Rules: if you opt for Aadhaar authentication, you complete it while submitting, and the ARN (Application Reference Number) comes only after that.
- The portal picks some applications, on data analysis and risk parameters, for biometric authentication, a photograph and a check of original documents at a notified Facilitation Centre.
- The OTP link, or the centre visit, has to be finished within 15 days.
- If you choose No, you still visit the centre for a photograph and document check, and the officer gets 30 days instead of 7 working days.
- On 8 September 2026 the Delhi High Court directed, for the time being, that no GST registration be allowed without biometric Aadhaar authentication.
In this guide
What is Aadhaar authentication in a GST application?
When you fill Part B of Form GST REG-01 (the registration application), the portal asks whether you want to authenticate Aadhaar. The switch is set to Yes by default. Authentication means UIDAI, the Aadhaar authority, confirms that the Aadhaar number belongs to the person using it. Section 25(6C) of the CGST Act asks for it from an individual applicant and, for other applicants, from people such as the Karta, partners, directors and the authorised signatory.
Does every partner or director have to do it? No. The portal's manual lists who does:
| Type of business | Who authenticates |
|---|---|
| Proprietorship | The proprietor and the primary authorised signatory |
| Partnership firm | One partner and the primary authorised signatory |
| HUF | The Karta and the primary authorised signatory |
| Company | One director and the primary authorised signatory |
| LLP | One designated partner and the primary authorised signatory |
The primary authorised signatory is the person who signs and files for the business. In a proprietorship that is usually the proprietor, so one person does it once.
How does the OTP route work?
After you submit, the portal sends an authentication link to the mobile number and email you entered for each person in the table. Open the link and enter the Aadhaar number. An OTP goes to the mobile and email registered with Aadhaar. Enter it and that person is done. The link works once and stays valid for 15 days.
Link not received? Log in with your TRN (Temporary Reference Number), open My Saved Applications and use the resend option under Aadhaar Authentication Status. The portal makes you wait 10 minutes between resends.
The ARN is generated only when every required person has authenticated. Until then the officer's clock has not started. Our guide on how long GST registration takes explains that clock.
When are you sent for biometric verification?
Under the first proviso to Rule 8(4A), the portal can pick an application, on data analysis and risk parameters, for a stricter check. You are not told why. Instead of the OTP link, your email carries a link to book an appointment at a GST Suvidha Kendra (GSK), the Facilitation Centre for your jurisdiction. There your biometrics are matched with Aadhaar, a photograph is taken and your original documents are compared with the copies you uploaded.
A GSTN advisory lists what to carry:
- The appointment confirmation email, printed or on your phone
- The jurisdiction details from the intimation email
- Your original Aadhaar card and PAN card
- The originals of every document uploaded with the application
A partner or director who is not the authorised signatory needs only the biometric check. The authorised signatory also gets the documents verified, so the manual asks the others to go first. If the visits are not completed within 15 days, no ARN is generated and you begin again.
Is the biometric check now for everyone? The rule still speaks of selected cases. But on 8 September 2026 the Delhi High Court, in Neha v. Union of India, directed authorities across the country, for the time being, not to allow any GST registration without it. We could not confirm on an official page how the portal applies this order today, and a CBIC circular of 26 October 2026 still describes selected applications. Plan as if a centre visit is likely.
What if you choose No?
You can decline. The second proviso to Rule 8(4A), in force since 11 February 2025, then sends you to the centre anyway for a photograph and document check. Rule 9 gives the officer 30 days instead of 7 working days, after a physical visit to your premises. You also lose the three-working-day route under Rule 14A, which needs Aadhaar authentication. Saying No rarely saves anything.
Why does this rule exist?
Registrations taken on stolen PAN and Aadhaar details are used to issue fake invoices and pass on input tax credit, the credit a buyer takes for GST paid on purchases. The Delhi High Court's order records a reply given in the Rajya Sabha: 2,800 such registrations were found in 2023-24. A biometric is harder to borrow than an OTP. For a genuine seller the cost is one visit.
A worked example
Asha, a proprietor in Pune, expects marketplace sales of Rs 2,00,000 a month once her GSTIN arrives. She submits her application on a Monday and gets a booking link instead of an OTP. She books a Thursday slot and carries her originals. The ARN is generated after the centre completes the check, and the officer's 7 working days run from there.
Suppose she had left the email unread. After 15 days the application lapses without an ARN and she files again. At Rs 2,00,000 a month, 15 lost days is about Rs 1,00,000 of sales she could not make.
The mistake people usually make
They find out at the OTP step that the mobile number linked to Aadhaar is an old one. The OTP goes to a number nobody uses, the 15 days run out and the application dies. Check the linked mobile before you start, for every person in the table, and get it updated first if needed.
The second mistake is sending an accountant or a relative to the centre. Biometrics cannot be delegated. The person named in the application has to go.
Can you do this part yourself? You have to. Nobody else can receive your OTP or give your biometric. What help buys you is a clean application, so the originals you show match what was uploaded. The full filing sequence is in our GST registration process guide.
Sources
- CGST Rule 8: application for registration, sub-rules (4A) and (4B) (CBIC tax information portal) (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- CGST Act section 25(6A) to (6D): Aadhaar authentication (CBIC tax information portal) (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- CGST Rule 9: verification of the application and approval (CBIC tax information portal) (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- GST portal user manual: applying for registration as a normal taxpayer (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- GSTN advisory on biometric-based Aadhaar authentication and document verification, Sikkim, 1 May 2025 (copy on the Maharashtra GST department site) (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- Delhi High Court order dated 8 September 2026 in W.P.(C) 12210/2026, Neha v. Union of India (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- CBIC Circular No. 257/03/2026-GST dated 26 October 2026 (A2Z Taxcorp copy, secondary) (checked 12 Nov 2026)
How AprilTax can help
AprilTax's Tax Experts handle GST registration online for a fixed fee of Rs 1,499. The form lists the documents for your type of business, so what you upload matches the originals you may be asked to show. The OTP or the centre visit stays with you, because the law wants the real person. See GST registration with AprilTax.
Frequently asked questions
Is Aadhaar authentication mandatory for GST registration?
How many days do I get to complete Aadhaar authentication for GST registration?
Who has to do Aadhaar authentication in a partnership firm or a company?
What documents should I carry to the GST Suvidha Kendra for biometric verification?
I did not receive the Aadhaar authentication link. What should I do?
Is biometric Aadhaar authentication compulsory for every GST applicant now?
Can my accountant or a family member go to the GST Suvidha Kendra for me?
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