Short answer: if you run your business from rented premises, you upload your rent agreement with your GST application. If the agreement is registered, that alone is enough. If it is not registered, add one document in your landlord’s name, such as the latest electricity bill or property tax receipt. If the premises belong to a parent or spouse, you do not need a rent agreement at all: you upload a consent letter from them plus one ownership document. And if you have no agreement with your landlord, there is now an official undertaking format you can use instead. These rules come from a CBIC circular issued on 26 October 2026, and this guide walks through each situation.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. For anything unusual about your premises, check with your CA before you apply.
Proof of your principal place of business is the single biggest reason GST applications get a query notice or a rejection. CBIC itself says so in Circular No. 257/03/2026-GST, which it issued after receiving complaints that officers were asking for documents that are not on the official list. The usual story is familiar to anyone who has applied: the application goes in, a notice comes back within a week asking for the landlord’s PAN, a photo of the landlord at the shop, or an Udyam certificate, and the owner scrambles for papers that were never required.
The circular, read with CBIC’s earlier Instruction No. 03/2025-GST to officers, now spells out exactly what each type of premises needs. If you upload the right set the first time, you avoid most of this.
The application asks how you hold the premises: own, rented or leased, consent, or shared. Many people get this wrong before they upload anything. “Own” means the property is in your own name. If it belongs to your father, mother, spouse, brother, a partner or a director, the circular says you must not select “own”. Select “consent” instead (or “rented” if you actually pay rent under an agreement). Picking “own” for a parent’s house and then uploading a bill in your father’s name is a mismatch that almost guarantees a query.
| Your situation | What to upload |
| Rented, agreement is registered | The registered rent or lease agreement. Nothing else from the landlord is needed. |
| Rented, agreement is not registered (most 11-month agreements) | The rent agreement plus one document in the landlord’s name: latest property tax receipt, municipal khata, property identification document, latest electricity bill or latest water bill. |
| Rented, and the electricity or water connection is in your name | The rent agreement plus the latest bill in your name. No landlord document is needed. |
| Rented, but no written agreement at all | An undertaking in the official Annexure V format, plus a utility bill or other listed document for the premises. |
| Owned by a parent, spouse, sibling, partner or director | A consent letter in the Annexure VI format on plain paper, signed by the owner, plus one ownership document in the owner’s name. |
| Owned by a deceased parent or grandparent, nothing in your name | Death certificate, an affidavit in the Annexure IV format on ₹100 non-judicial stamp paper (before a magistrate or notary), and one ownership document. |
| Co-working space | Membership agreement naming your desk or cabin, plus the provider’s ownership document, or the provider’s registered lease with the building owner. |
| Owned by you | Any one of: latest property tax receipt, municipal khata, property identification document, latest electricity bill or latest water bill, in your name. |
Most small shops and offices run on an 11-month rent agreement on stamp paper, often notarised, but not registered at the sub-registrar’s office. That is normal. Under the Registration Act, 1908, a lease has to be registered when it runs for more than a year (or from year to year), and that is exactly why the 11-month format is so common. Some states go further: in Maharashtra, for example, leave and licence agreements have to be registered regardless of the term. The circular accepts both routes. If your state required registration, upload the registered copy. If it did not, upload the unregistered agreement along with one document in your landlord’s name.
CBIC’s 2025 instruction to officers also allows them to ask for a copy of the landlord’s identity proof when the agreement is unregistered, so keep a copy of the landlord’s ID ready in case the officer asks. What officers should not ask for is the landlord’s photograph at the premises. The circular’s own FAQ says such photos are neither required nor accepted as proof.
Three checks before you upload the agreement:
This used to be a real headache, especially for small traders who rent on trust from a local owner. Earlier, CBIC’s 2025 instruction asked for an affidavit on stamp paper before a magistrate or notary. The 2026 circular now prescribes an undertaking in its Annexure V format. In it you state who owns the premises, that there is no written agreement, since when you have been in possession, and that you pay the utility charges. Upload it with a document for the premises, ideally the latest electricity or water bill showing the full address.
That said, a simple written rent agreement is still worth having for its own sake. It protects you in any dispute with the landlord, and banks often ask for it when you open a current account.
This is the most common case for home businesses and family shops. You do not need a rent agreement with your own parent. Instead, select “consent”, and upload:
The letter must name the owner and the applicant, state the relationship between you, describe the property, and say which part of it you are allowed to use. If you use only one room or a portion of a larger building, describe it clearly, for example “ground floor front room, about 150 sq ft”. The official format also has the owner’s PAN and phone number. If the property is jointly owned, every co-owner has to sign. This is the step people most often miss when a house is in the names of both parents.
One exception: if you are yourself one of the co-owners, you do not need consent from the others. But if the bills are in another co-owner’s name, upload a document that shows the joint ownership.
A co-working seat can be your principal place of business, but the paperwork is stricter than many providers tell you. Your membership agreement must name the specific desk, cabin or suite allotted to you and the period. You also need either an ownership document in the provider’s name, or, if the provider itself rents the building, its registered lease with the building owner. A post office box or courier address is not acceptable as a place of business. Before you pay for a “virtual office for GST”, ask the provider in writing whether they will give you all of these documents.
The circular asks for a complete, specific address: building, flat, shop or plot number, street, locality, town, district and the correct PIN code. A locality or a village name alone is not enough. You can also drag the marker on the portal’s map to your exact location. Then comes the part that causes most queries: the address you type must match the address on the document you upload. If your electricity bill says “Door No. 12/4, Avinashi Road” and you type “No. 12, Avinashi Rd”, you are inviting a notice. Copy the address exactly as it appears on the proof.
The circular lists queries that it calls unwarranted. If you get one of these, you can point to the circular in your reply:
The circular says officers should only check that a utility bill or tax receipt shows the right name and address, and that a rent agreement is valid, names both parties and gives the exact address.
Once you are registered, check whether your landlord is registered under GST. Since 10 October 2024, when a business registered under the regular scheme rents commercial property (a shop, office or godown) from an unregistered landlord, the tenant has to pay 18% GST on the rent under the reverse charge mechanism, directly to the government. A ₹20,000 monthly rent means ₹3,600 of GST every month that you pay in cash, though regular taxpayers can usually claim it back as input tax credit. Businesses under the composition scheme have been excluded from this since 16 January 2025. It is easy to miss because the landlord never sends you a GST invoice. Ask your CA to set it up in your monthly returns from the first month.
Does the rent agreement need to be notarised for GST registration?
The circular does not ask for notarisation. It asks for either a registered agreement, or an unregistered one with a landlord’s ownership document. A notarised 11-month agreement counts as unregistered.
Can I register GST at my home address?
Yes. The circular specifically says officers should not decide that residential premises are unfit for business. Use the right premises type and documents for your home.
Can I use my father’s house without a rent agreement?
Yes. Select “consent”, and upload a consent letter from your father in the Annexure VI format with one ownership document in his name.
The electricity bill is in the landlord’s name and the meter is shared. Will that work?
Yes. With a registered agreement you need nothing more. With an unregistered agreement, upload the agreement and one of the landlord’s documents, which can be that bill.
Do I need my Udyam certificate for GST registration?
No. The circular says the Udyam certificate is neither required nor accepted as proof of premises.
Once your registration comes through, you can start billing with our free GST invoice generator. If you are still choosing accounting software, see our Tally vs Zoho Books comparison, and if a buyer is slow to pay you later, our guide to filing an MSME delayed payment complaint explains your options.
Sources: CBIC Circular No. 257/03/2026-GST dated 26 October 2026, with Annexures I to VI; CBIC Instruction No. 03/2025-GST dated 17 April 2025; Notification No. 09/2024-Central Tax (Rate) on reverse charge for commercial rent and its amendment excluding composition taxpayers from 16 January 2025. Updated October 2026.
