5. Certificate of registration. -

(1) When the appropriate Assessing Authority, after making such enquiry as it may consider necessary, is satisfied that the application is in order and the applicant has fulfilled the requirements of the provisions of the Act and these rules, it may register such dealer or such person and issue him a certificate of registration in Form VAT-IV (specifying clearly the certificate of registration issued to dealer paying lumpsum as "GENERAL REGISTRATION" and in case of a dealer paying Value Added Tax as "VAT REGISTRATION") which shall be valid either from the date of receipt of the application under sub-rule (1) of rule 3 or from the commencement of the liability to pay tax, whichever is latter, but in case of registration under sub-section (2) of section 14 the certificate of registration shall be valid from the date of its grant.

(2) The registration certificate shall specify the following, amongst other particulars :-

(a) the location of the business and of any branch of the business;

(b) the nature of the business;

(c) the tax or the return period; and

(d) the intervals at which the tax shall be payable.

(3) As far as may be consistent with the Act and the rules, the particulars referred to in clauses (b) and (c) of sub-rule (2) of this rule shall be described in the registration certificate in the same terms as are used by the dealer or the person in his application form.

(4) Every Value Added Tax (VAT) registration certificate shall bear a unique number to be known as 'the Taxpayer's Identification Number' (hereinafter referred as "TIN") consisting of 11 digit numerals, wherein,-

(a) the first two digits will represent 'the State Code' as used by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs;

(b) the next two digits will represent 'the Charge Code';

(c) the next four digits will represent 'the Registration Number' proper;

(d) the next one digit will represent 'the Act Identification Code', namely, the Himachal Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2005 (or the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956); and

(e) the last two digits will represent the 'Check Code', as follows: -

ILLUSTRATION: STRUCTURE OF THE 11 DIGIT TAX PAYERS IDENTIFICATION NUMBER

(5) The certificate of registration shall be kept at the principal place of business and an attested copy of it shall also be kept at each of the additional places of business to which it relates.

(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in this rule, a dealer opting to pay tax under section 9 or 16(2) shall be allotted a general registration number and the certificate or registration shall specify at the top "GENERAL REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE".