GST Practitioner : Exam and Eligibility

CA Satbir Singh — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 03:00:25 +0000

GST Practitioner : Free Study Material

Here is the detailed articles , sections and study material for GST Practitioner in India

GST Practitioner benefits /GST Practitioner meaning

GST Practitioners ; Analysis

GST Practitioner FAQ

[Video] What GST Practitioner can do on GST Portal ? GST News Part 248

How to Search / Check GST Practitioner

GST Practitioner Exam

GST Practitioners Exam Guidelines

Last Chance to become GST Practitioner : Press Release 10.05.2019

GST Practitioners to Pass Exam before 31.12.2018 Press Release 12.07.18

Govt notified NACIN as the authority for conducting the examination for GST Practitioners under rule 83 (3) of the CGST Rules, 2017. Via Notification No 24 /2018 Central Tax Dated 28th May, 2018

GST Practitioner Exam Dates

GST Practitioners Examination for Enrollment Confirmation on 17.12.2018

GST Practitioners enrolled till 26.11.2018 eligible for exam on 17.12.2018

First GST Practitioner Exam was conducted on 31.10.2018

Who is required to pass GST Practitioners Exam

Every person referred to in clause (b) of sub-rule (1) of rule 83 and who is enrolled as a goods and services tax practitioner under sub-rule (2) of the said rule, shall pass an examination as per sub-rule (3) of the said rule.

[Rule 83A (1) of CGST Rules 2017 ]

The National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) has been authorized to conduct an examination for confirmation of enrollment of Goods and Services Tax Practitioners (GSTPs) in terms of the sub-rule (3) of rule 83 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, vide Notification No. 24/2018-Central Tax dated 28.5.2018.

The GSTPs enrolled on the GST Network under sub-rule (2) of Rule 83 and covered by clause (b) of sub-rule (1) of Rule 83, i.e. those meeting the eligibility criteria of having enrolled as

sales tax practitioners or
tax return preparer

under the existing law for a period not less than five years, are required to pass the said examination before 31.12.2018 in terms of second proviso to Rule 83(3).

Who will Conduct GST Practitioner Exam ?

The National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (hereinafter referred to as “NACIN”) shall conduct the examination.

[Rule 83A (2) of CGST Rules 2017 ]

What will be the Frequency of examination for GST Practitioner ?

The examination shall be conducted twice in a year as per the schedule of the examination published by NACIN every year on the official websites of the Board, NACIN, common portal, GST Council Secretariat and in the leading English and regional newspapers.

[Rule 83A (3) of CGST Rules 2017 ]

How to take registration and pay fees for GST Practitioner Exam ?

Registration for the examination and payment of fee.-

(i) A person who is required to pass the examination shall register online on a website specified by NACIN.

(ii) A person who registers for the examination shall pay examination fee as specified by NACIN, and the amount for the same and the manner of its payment shall be specified by NACIN on the official websites of the Board, NACIN and common portal.

[Rule 83A (4) of CGST Rules 2017 ]

Where will GST Practitioner Exam be conducted ?

Examination centers

The examination shall be held across India at the designated centers.

The candidate shall be given an option to choose from the list of centers as provided by NACIN at the time of registration.

[Rule 83A (5) of CGST Rules 2017 ]

How many attempts are allowed to pass GST Practitioner Exam ?

Rule 83A (6) of CGST Rules 2017 :

Period for passing the examination and number of attempts allowed.–

(i) A person enrolled as a goods and services tax practitioner in terms of sub-rule (2) of rule 83 is required to pass the examination within two years of enrolment:

Provided that if a person is enrolled as a goods and services tax practitioner before 1st of July 2018, he shall get one more year to pass the examination:

Provided further that for a goods and services tax practitioner to whom the provisions of clause (b) of sub-rule (1) of rule 83 apply, the period to pass the examination will be as specified in the second proviso of sub-rule (3) of said rule. [ i.e within a period of eighteen months from the appointed date 01.07.2017 ]

(ii) A person required to pass the examination may avail of any number of attempts but these attempts shall be within the period as specified in clause (i).

(iii) A person shall register and pay the requisite fee every time he intends to appear at the examination.

(iv) In case the goods and services tax practitioner having applied for appearing in the examination is prevented from availing one or more attempts due to unforeseen circumstances such as critical illness, accident or natural calamity, he may make a request in writing to the jurisdictional Commissioner for granting him one additional attempt to pass the examination, within thirty days of conduct of the said examination. NACIN may consider such requests on merits based on recommendations of the jurisdictional Commissioner.

What will be the nature of GST Practitioner Exam ?

Rule 83A (7) of CGST Rules 2017 :

Nature of examination.

The examination shall be a Computer Based Test.

It shall have one question paper consisting of Multiple Choice Questions.

The pattern and syllabus are specified in Annexure-A.

Annexure-A
[See sub-rule 7]
Pattern and Syllabus of the Examination

PAPER: GST Law & Procedures:
Time allowed:	2 hours and 30 minutes
Number of Multiple Choice Questions:	100
Language of Questions:	English and Hindi
Maximum marks:	200
Qualifying marks:	100
No negative marking

Syllabus:
1	The Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
2	The Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
3	All The State Goods and Services Tax Acts, 2017
4	The Union territory Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
5	The Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act, 2017
6	The Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017
7	The Integrated Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017
8	All The State Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017
9	Notifications, Circulars and orders issued from time to time under the said Acts and Rules.”.

What will be the Qualifying marks for GST Practitioner Exam ?

Rule 83A (8) of CGST Rules 2017 :

Qualifying marks.- A person shall be required to secure fifty per cent. of the total marks

What are Guidelines for GST Practitioner Exam ?

Rule 83A (9) of CGST Rules 2017 :

Guidelines for the candidates.-

(i) NACIN shall issue examination guidelines covering issues such as procedure of registration, payment of fee, nature of identity documents, provision of admit card, manner of reporting at the examination center, prohibition on possession of certain items in the examination center, procedure of making representation and the manner of its disposal.

(ii) Any person who is or has been found to be indulging in unfair means or practices shall be dealt in accordance with the provisions of sub-rule (10). An illustrative list of use of unfair means or practices by a person is as under: –

(a) obtaining support for his candidature by any means;
(b) impersonating;
(c) submitting fabricated documents;

(d) resorting to any unfair means or practices in connection with the examination or in connection with the result of the examination;
(e) found in possession of any paper, book, note or any other material, the use of which is not permitted in the examination center;
(f) communicating with others or exchanging calculators, chits, papers etc. (on which something is written);
(g) misbehaving in the examination center in any manner;
(h) tampering with the hardware and/or software deployed; and
(i) attempting to commit or, as the case may be, to abet in the commission of all or any of the acts specified in the foregoing clauses

Refer Guidelines for GST Practitioner Exam under Rule 83A(9) issued by NACIN, Faridabad

A. Guidelines for filling up application form:

1. All GST Practitioners who are eligible to appear in the examination are required to submit online application on the Examination registration portal. Link of the portal shall be provided on official websites of NACIN and CBIC.

2. Landing page of the portal will display guidelines for filling up the application and also important dates namely- (i) date of commencement of online registration, (ii) last date of submitting application form, (iii) date from when admit card can be downloaded, (iv) date of examination, and (v) date of result declaration.

3. Candidates are required to login on the portal with the help of GST enrolment number (login id) and PAN no. (password).

4. The GST enrolment number has been provided to each eligible candidate by GSTN on his enrolment on the GST portal.

5. Application form will appear on the screen after a candidate successfully logs in.

6. Based on the GST enrolment number and PAN number provided by a candidate on the login page, the application form will auto-populate candidate’s data already available with the GST Network such as name, address, mobile number, email address etc. This data is the same which was provided by the candidate in Form PCT-01 while applying for enrolment as GST Practitioner on the GST portal.

7. Hence, in the online application form on this Examination registration portal, a candidate is required to fill in/provide only the following information/documents:

i) Three choices of test centres (stations) from the drop-down menu,
ii) Softcopy of passport size photograph (File Type JPG, JPEG, PNG of Size 20 to 60 KB),
iii) Softcopy of signatures (File Type JPG, JPEG, PNG of Size 10 to 30 KB), and
iv) Whether the candidate falls under the category ‘person with disability’

8. The candidates will be prompted fill in three choices from a list of test centres (stations). To the extent possible, center will be allocated to a candidate according to the choices indicated by him.

9. Once a candidate submits completed application form on the registration portal, he will be prompted to pay the examination fee online.

10. On completion of online fee payment, the candidate will be guided to access ‘Candidate’s Dashboard’ from where the submitted application as well as Admit Card can be downloaded. Score card and Examination Certificate will also be made available for download on the same Dashboard.

11. A mock test of 15-20 questions will also be available on Candidate’s Dashboard.

B. Guidelines for appearing in the Examination:

1. Candidates are advised to report at the Examination Centre one and a half hour before the scheduled examination time. Gate will be closed fifteen minutes before commencement of examination after which no candidate shall be allowed to enter the examination venue.

2. Entry in the examination hall will be allowed on production of printout of Admit Card and a valid identity document in original {Aadhar, PAN Card, Driving License, EPIC (Electoral Photo ID Card) or Passport}.

3. PROHIBITED ITEMS, such as watches, books, pens, pencil, paper, chits, magazines, electronic gadgets (mobile phones, Bluetooth devices, head phones, pen/buttonhole cameras, scanner, calculator, storage devices etc.) are STRICTLY NOT ALLOWED in the examination hall.

4. Each candidate shall be provided with complete examination infrastructure including hardware (a desktop computer) loaded with examination software.

5. Before the start of the test, a candidate will be required to enter the Roll No. (Roll no. displayed in Admit Card) and password (PAN no.) to start the test.

6. On designated time, the question paper shall be made available on computer screen of the candidates.

7. The test will be in Computer Based mode in a secure environment such that while the test is taken, access to all possible web resources i.e. browsing chatting etc. will be blocked from the computer of the candidates as well as any other computer peripherals such as printers. Similarly, functions like “Copy-Paste” will be disabled in the question paper page appearing in the test.

8. For answering a question, candidate has to click on the correct / most appropriate option from the given answer choices.
9. Pen/pencil for rough work will be provided in the examination hall. Rough work needs to be done on the back side of Admit card. No separate rough sheet will be provided to the candidates.

10. Electronic watch (timer) will be available on the computer screen allotted to the candidates.

11. It is reiterated that Candidates should not bring Bags and prohibited/valuable items as mentioned above to the examination venue as arrangements for safe custody of such items cannot be assured.

12. Candidates must not indulge in use of unfair means or practices. An illustrative list of use of unfair means or practices by a person is as below:

a) Obtaining support for his candidature by any means;
b) Impersonating;
c) Submitting fabricated documents;
d) Resorting to any unfair means or practices in connection with the examination or in
connection with the result of the examination;
e) Found in possession of any paper, book, note or any other material, the use of which is
not permitted in the examination center;
f) Communicating with others or exchanging calculators, chits, papers etc. (on which
something is written);
g) Misbehaving in the examination center in any manner;
h) Tampering with the hardware and/or software deployed; and
i) Attempting to commit or, as the case may be, to abet in the commission of all or any of
the acts specified in the foregoing clauses

Resorting to unfair means or practices shall be considered as a serious offence. If any candidate is or has been found to be indulging use of unfair means or practices, his candidature will be cancelled and he will be disqualified for the examination.

13. Candidates shall maintain silence in the examination venue. Any conversation or gesticulating or disturbance or attempt to change seats/admit cards in the Examination Hall shall be deemed as use of unfair means.

14. Candidates are not allowed to leave the examination hall until completion of the test and handing over the Admit card to the Invigilator.

15. Candidates are not allowed under any circumstances to go out of the hall in the first thirty minutes even on completion/submission of the paper.

16. The question papers shall be in English and in Hindi. In case of any discrepancy, English version will prevail.

17. Smoking and eating are strictly prohibited in the examination hall.

C. Guidelines for post-examination representation and its disposal:

1. Any candidate, not satisfied with his result may send a representation to Assistant / Deputy Director (Examination), National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics, NACIN Complex, Sector-29, Faridabad-121008, clearly specifying the reasons of representation, within seven days of declaration of results on NACIN website.

2. If the representation requires re-evaluation, it shall be entertained only in cases where a candidate has failed the examination. In such a case, the representation shall be sent along with re-evaluation fee in the form of a Demand draft of Rs. 200/- in favour of PAO, CBEC, payable at New Delhi.

3. NACIN shall inform result of representation to the candidate, preferably within one
month of receipt of the representation.

How can a person be disqualified from GST Practitioner Exam ?

Rule 83A (10) of CGST Rules 2017 :

Disqualification of person using unfair means or practice.– If any person is or has been found to be indulging in use of unfair means or practices, NACIN may, after considering his representation, if any, declare him disqualified for the examination.

How results will be declared for GST Practitioner Exam ?

Rule 83A (11) of CGST Rules 2017 :

Declaration of result.- NACIN shall declare the results within one month of the conduct of examination on the official websites of the Board, NACIN, GST Council Secretariat, common portal and State Tax Department of the respective States or Union territories, if any.

The results shall also be communicated to the applicants by e-mail and/or by post.

What can be done if person is not satisfied with result of GST Practitioner Exam ?

Rule 83A (12) of CGST Rules 2017 :

Handling representations.– A person not satisfied with his result may represent in writing, clearly specifying the reasons therein to NACIN or the jurisdictional Commissioner as per the procedure established by NACIN on the official websites of the Board, NACIN and common portal.

Whether any relaxation can be given for GST Practitioner Exam ?

Rule 83A (13) of CGST Rules 2017 :

Power to relax.- Where the Board or State Tax Commissioner is of the opinion that it is necessary or expedient to do so, it may, on the recommendations of the Council, relax any of the provisions of this rule with respect to any class or category of persons

what is the meaning of jurisdictional Commissioner for GST Practitioner Exam ?

Rule 83A of CGST Rules 2017

Explanation :- For the purposes of this sub-rule, the expressions –

(a) “jurisdictional Commissioner” means the Commissioner having jurisdiction over the place declared as address in the application for enrolment as the GST Practitioner in FORM GST PCT-1.

It shall refer to the Commissioner of Central Tax if the enrolling authority in FORM GST PCT-1 has been selected as Centre,
or the Commissioner of State Tax if the enrolling authority in FORM GST PCT1 has been selected as State;

what is the meaning of NACIN for GST Practitioner Exam ?

Rule 83A of CGST Rules 2017

Explanation :- For the purposes of this sub-rule, the expressions –

(b) NACIN means as notified by notification No. 24/2018-Central Tax, dated 28.05.2018

GST Practitioners Exam Date for December 2018

For GST Practitioners enrolled after 24.09.2018, one more examination will be held on 7th December 2018,

GST Practitioners Exam Registration

The Registration for this exam can be done by the eligible GSTPs on a registration portal, link of which https://nacin.onlineregistrationform.org/NACIN/LoginAction_loadIndex.action will also be provided on NACIN and CBIC websites.

The registration portalfor exam scheduled on 7.12.2018 will be activated on 16^th November, 2018 and will remain open up to 25^rd November 2018.For the convenience of candidates a help desk will also be set up, details of which will be made available on the registration portal. The applicants are required to make online payment of examination fee of Rs. 500/- at the time of registration for this exam.

For convenience of candidates, a help desk will also be set up, details of which will be made available on the registration portal.