Online GST registration: On Day One, technical glitch hassles traders
Many city traders faced problems while getting themselves registered on GST portal on the first day on Sunday. The portal has been launched by the Union government. The traders complained that the online portal, http://www.gst.gov.in, did not open till 2 pm and later it did not accept the One Time Password (OTP) that was necessary for registration. City activist Ajay Jagga, the author of book Guide to concept of GST, who was trying to register for some entrants, has written to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely complaining about the technical glitches he faced during registration.
“The existing traders need to contact the local authorities for migration that has been done in Chandigarh. However, this portal was specifically for the new entrants,” Jagga said.
“People all over India were waiting for June 25 as it was announced that the online registration will begin on the GST portal on that day. I opened the portal for online registration at 10.10 am, but it did not open till 2 pm,” said Jagga.
He also said he called up the helpline number, but it did not answer. “I called up the helpilne number, 01204888999, but the number was busy most of the time. At 11 am, the operator on the number picked up the call and informed that the site is yet to open owing to some problem and will take half an hour,” Jagga said.
After half an hour, there was a message that the portal will open anytime after 2 pm and then it finally opened. “I began with the process and entered all the requisite details after which the site said that One Time Password (OTP) would be sent on the cellphone and email. We received the OTP on the phone, but not on email,” he mentioned.
The traders constantly tried calling the helpline number again, but it was busy. “The GST network is a complete failure. The GST registration will remain erratic and will bring bad name to our system if this continues,” Jagga stated in his complaint.
Anil Vohra, president, Chandigarh Beopar Mandal, said: “The way people are facing problems on the portal, the government will have to offer relaxation to the traders. Since it is a new system altogether, there is a lot of confusion among everybody.”