Letter of Authorisation and Board Resolution for GST Registration

When you apply for GST registration, Form GST REG-01 asks you to upload, for each authorised signatory named in the application, an authorisation or a copy of the resolution of the managing committee or board of directors. A partnership firm, LLP, trust or proprietor appointing someone else usually uploads a signed letter of authorisation; a company uploads a certified copy of its board resolution.

There is an official starting point. The list of documents in Form GST REG-01, which is part of the CGST Rules, sets out a short "Declaration for Authorised Signatory", made separately for each signatory and signed by the proprietor, all partners, the Karta, the managing and whole-time directors or the members of the managing committee, as the case may be, followed by an "Acceptance as an Authorised Signatory" signed by the person appointed. The declaration refers to the resolution or decision that appoints the signatory. The wording of the board or committee resolution itself is not prescribed. The samples further down follow the substance of that declaration; adapt them to your entity and your constitution documents, and check the current REG-01 text, which was substituted with effect from 1 November 2026.

What an authorised signatory does on the GST portal

The authorised signatory is the person who signs or verifies applications, returns and replies on behalf of the business. In practice the primary authorised signatory also receives the OTPs and official emails, because the mobile number and email entered for that person in Part A of REG-01 become the business's contact details on the portal.

That makes the choice more than a formality. Whoever you name will:

• verify the registration application with a digital signature certificate (DSC) or an electronic verification code (EVC)
• be the person whose identity is checked through Aadhaar authentication under rule 8(4A) of the CGST Rules, which can include a biometric appointment at a GST Suvidha Kendra in cases the system selects
• receive notices, clarification requests and return-filing OTPs for as long as they remain the primary signatory

You can name more than one authorised signatory, but one must be marked as primary.

Who signs, by type of entity

The REG-01 instructions name who may digitally sign a new registration application for each type of entity. Where the business wants someone else to act, the authorisation described below is what supports that appointment. In short:

• Proprietorship: the proprietor. No separate letter is needed if the proprietor signs personally. A letter is needed only if the proprietor appoints someone else, such as an accounts manager.
• Partnership firm: a managing or authorised partner. If the firm wants a non-partner employee to sign, the partners authorise that person in writing.
• LLP: a designated partner, or another person authorised by the designated partners.
• Private or public limited company: a managing or whole-time director, or another person authorised by a resolution of the board.
• Society, trust, club or association: a member of the managing committee or another person authorised by a committee resolution.

Companies and LLPs must sign with a Class 2 or higher DSC. Proprietors and partnerships can usually use EVC instead.

Letter of authorisation or board resolution: which one you need

Letter of authorisation

• Used by proprietors, partnership firms, LLPs and HUFs.
• Signed by the proprietor, all partners or the designated partners, and accepted by the person being appointed.
• Printed on letterhead where you have one, dated, and signed in ink before scanning.

Board resolution

• Used by companies. A committee resolution plays the same role for societies, trusts and associations.
• Passed at a board meeting, or by circulation where your articles and the Companies Act allow it, and recorded in the minutes.
• Uploaded as a certified true copy, signed by a director or the company secretary, with the date and place of the meeting.

The REG-01 declaration format ends with an acceptance signed by the person appointed, so include one whether you use a letter or a resolution.

What the document should contain

The REG-01 declaration is short, and officers look for substance. A letter or resolution that answers these questions rarely draws a query:

1. The legal name of the business exactly as it appears on the PAN.
2. The PAN of the business, and the state for which registration is sought.
3. The full name, designation and PAN of the person being appointed.
4. What the person may do: apply for registration, sign and file returns, reply to notices, apply for amendments and cancellation, and deal with the GST department generally.
5. Whether the person is the primary authorised signatory.
6. The date, place, and signatures of those granting the authority, plus the specimen signature or acceptance of the appointee.

Sample letter of authorisation (partnership firm)

Sample only. It follows the substance of the REG-01 declaration but is not the form's exact wording, so compare it with the current form and check it with your CA.

To: The Proper Officer, [Jurisdiction], Goods and Services Tax Department

Subject: Authorisation of authorised signatory for GST registration

We, the partners of [Firm name], PAN [firm PAN], having our principal place of business at [address], hereby authorise [name], [designation], PAN [PAN], to act as the primary authorised signatory of the firm for the purposes of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the [State] Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The authorised signatory may apply for registration, sign and furnish returns, respond to notices, apply for amendment or cancellation, and do all acts connected with the firm's GST compliance.

Signed by each partner, with name and date.

Accepted: signature and name of the authorised signatory.

Sample board resolution (private limited company)

Sample only. Your articles, quorum rules and the Companies Act 2013 govern how the resolution is passed. The GST law does not prescribe the resolution's wording; the REG-01 declaration then refers to it.

Certified true copy of the resolution passed at the meeting of the Board of Directors of [Company name], CIN [CIN], held on [date] at [place]:

"RESOLVED THAT [name], [designation], PAN [PAN], be and is hereby appointed as the primary authorised signatory of the Company for the purposes of GST registration in the State of [State] and for all compliance under the CGST Act, 2017, the IGST Act, 2017 and the [State] GST Act, 2017, including signing and filing applications, returns, replies and amendments on the common portal.

RESOLVED FURTHER THAT any director of the Company be and is hereby authorised to issue a certified copy of this resolution to the GST authorities."

Certified true copy: signature, name and DIN of a director, or signature and membership number of the company secretary.

A worked example: a Pune LLP adds its finance manager

Sahyadri Agro Exports LLP in Pune has two designated partners, Meera and Arjun, who travel a lot. They want their finance manager, Rohan, to be the primary authorised signatory for a new Maharashtra registration.

1. Day 1. Meera and Arjun sign a letter of authorisation on the LLP's letterhead naming Rohan, with his PAN and the powers listed above. Rohan signs the acceptance line. The letter is scanned as one PDF.
2. Day 1. In Part A of REG-01, Rohan's mobile number and email are entered as the authorised signatory contacts, and both are verified by OTP.
3. Day 2. In Part B, the two designated partners are entered as promoters, Rohan is added under authorised signatory and ticked as primary, and the letter is uploaded as proof of his appointment.
4. Day 2. Because the applicant is an LLP, the application is signed with Rohan's valid DSC (the form asks for Class 2 or above).
5. Day 3. Aadhaar authentication is completed for the persons the portal asks for, and the ARN is generated.

Eight months later Rohan leaves. The LLP has to update the registration: under rule 19(1) of the CGST Rules, a change in registration particulars is applied for in Form GST REG-14 within 15 days of the change. Rule 19 was substituted with effect from 1 November 2026, keeping that 15-day limit. Authorised signatory details are not principal-place-of-business details, so the amendment takes effect on submission and online validation without waiting for officer approval, but a new signatory's mobile number and email take effect only after online verification. The partners issue a fresh letter for the new signatory and upload it with the amendment.

Common mistakes that delay registration

• Name mismatch. The business name in the letter differs from the PAN record, for example "Pvt Ltd" against "Private Limited".
• Unsigned or undated scans. A typed name without a signature, or a resolution without the meeting date.
• Wrong signatory for the entity. An employee signing for a company without a board resolution behind the appointment.
• Personal contact details of an outsider. Using a consultant's phone and email as the primary contact means notices and OTPs go to someone outside the business.
• Forgetting to update. When the signatory leaves, the old person keeps receiving OTPs until REG-14 is filed.
• Expired DSC. For companies and LLPs, the DSC must be valid when you sign. After registration it also has to be registered on the portal before you can use it to file returns.

hellobooks< / a > -fits-in-once-you-are-registered">How HelloBooks fits in once you are registered

HelloBooks does not apply for GST registration for you. Its part starts once you have a GSTIN. You add the GSTIN to your organisation, set up HSN/SAC codes on the item master, and HelloBooks prepares GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B data from your invoices and bills, reconciles purchases against GSTR-2A/2B, and generates e-invoice IRNs and e-way bills where they apply.

User roles and approval workflows mirror the authority you gave on the portal: you can let a junior accountant prepare entries while only the authorised signatory approves and finalises return data. The compliance calendar sends due-date alerts so the signatory knows when to log in and file.

This is general information as of November 2026, not tax or legal advice. Check the current GST portal instructions or ask a qualified CA or company secretary about your entity's documents.