How to change the authorized signatory

The old partner left in March. His number still gets the GST OTP. You are at the counter with the new manager’s phone, watching a timer you cannot hear. GSTR-1 is ready. Login is not. The registration PDF on the wall still prints a name who does not work here. You need a primary authorized signatory who can receive OTP, sign with DSC or EVC, and not live in another town.

This is a registration amendment night, not a “create a second GSTIN” night. Do not open a new registration to dodge the old mobile. Do not file returns from a friend’s GSTIN. Change the signatory on this GSTIN through the official amendment.

Authorized signatory is a person GSTN is allowed to treat as your signer. Primary is the one the system treats as the main contact for many messages. You can have more than one signatory. You should not leave a resentful ex-partner as the only primary if they can still control OTP.

What this is doing to the shop

Every OTP — login, filing, refund, amendment — follows mapped mobiles and emails. If the only working signatory is gone, the shop is locked. Staff who “know the password” still fail at OTP. DSC of the new person will not register until they exist as a signatory.

Non-core amendment for authorized signatory is designed to update without the same officer approval that core fields (legal name, address in many cases, etc.) need. Portal tutorial language: non-core updates after you submit. You still need documents, OTP on new mobile, and a successful submit. If the old mobile is dead, the path is harder. That is when you stop guessing and get local help rather than using a random SIM.

Do not remove the last signatory before the new one is added and verified. Sequence matters.

Where to click on the GST portal

gst.gov.in login (you need someone who can still enter).

Services → Registration → Amendment of Registration Non-Core Fields.

Open the Authorized Signatory tab. You should see existing people. Use Add New (or the current equivalent button) for the new person. Fill name, PAN, mobile, email, designation, and the document uploads the form asks for — typically photograph, proof of appointment (board resolution, authorization letter, partnership deed page — whatever the screen lists for your constitution). Read the live checklist. Do not upload a blank letterhead.

Save. If the form asks to mark Primary Authorized Signatory, decide. To switch primary: add and verify the new person first; then edit the old row to uncheck primary and check primary on the new row, as the current screens allow. Some taxpayers need two submits. Follow the on-screen order rather than a memory of 2018.

Verification tab: declaration, place, name of signatory who is submitting this amendment, DSC or EVC. The person who still has OTP/DSC must submit the first addition.

New mobile and email: the portal sends OTP to the new number and mail. The new person must have the phone in hand tonight. After verification, wait for ARN SMS/email.

Track ARN under Services → Registration track application, or the acknowledgement mail.

Core versus non-core: if you are also changing legal name or principal place, that may be Amendment of Registration Core Fields and need officer approval. Do not hide a core change inside a signatory update.

What to try tonight

First, list who can still log in. If nobody can, this is not a self-service night. Local help, with GSTIN and old registration proof.

Second, collect PAN of the new signatory, their Aadhaar-linked mobile if the form wants Aadhaar e-KYC later, a clear photo, and a signed authorization. Companies: board resolution. Proprietor appointing a manager: authorization on letterhead with GSTIN. Partnership: partners’ authority as your deed allows.

Third, add the new person. Complete OTP on their mobile. Do not type the old partner’s number again “for convenience.”

Fourth, register their DSC after they exist on the profile: Register / Update DSC. Companies that must use DSC should not wait for the quarter-end night.

Fifth, change primary only after the new row is saved and OTP-verified. Then submit verification again if the portal requires it.

Sixth, try a test login the next morning with the new user path. GSTN user IDs: the new signatory may need to use the credentials the portal created. Do not assume the old username plus new OTP.

Seventh, download the updated registration certificate when it reflects the name. Keep the ARN.

If the old signatory is hostile and will not share OTP, stop. That is a legal and portal recovery problem, not a counter trick.

Mistakes that make the night longer

Uploading a selfie of the owner for a company director who is not the signatory.

Making a staff member primary without a paper authorization you can show an officer later.

Deleting the old signatory in the same save before the new OTP succeeds. You can strand the GSTIN.

Using a mobile that belongs to a consultant who handles twenty GSTINs. When they leave, you repeat this article.

Starting a core amendment by accident and then abandoning ARN while returns are due. Track every ARN.

When to stop and get local help

Stop if the only OTP phone is dead, sold, or with a person who will not cooperate.

Stop if PAN of the intended signatory does not match who actually runs the shop and you were about to “borrow” a PAN.

Stop if DSC, Aadhaar authentication, and amendment all fail with a portal error code.

Bring partnership deed or board resolution, IDs, GSTIN, old REG-06, and screenshots. File the amendment only on gst.gov.in. Do not pay a stranger to “map a new number” off the portal.

FAQ

Is changing the authorized signatory a core or non-core amendment?

On the GST portal it is treated as a non-core field. Path: Services → Registration → Amendment of Registration Non-Core Fields → Authorized Signatory tab. Non-core means the tutorial flow updates after you submit, without the same officer approval as many core changes. You still must upload what the form asks and complete OTP. If your case also needs a core change (for example principal place), that is a different menu. Read the tile names on your login.

The new mobile does not get the OTP during amendment. What then?

The amendment sends OTP to the number you typed for the new signatory (and often email). Check the digits, wait the timer, try email. DND and SMS blockers apply here the same way as login OTP. If the number is wrong, edit before you strand the form. If the portal refuses the number as already used in a way you cannot fix, get local help. Do not use a random relative’s phone you cannot keep.

Can I keep the old partner as a signatory but change the primary?

Yes, if they should still sign. Add or keep both rows. Uncheck primary on the old, check primary on the new, save, verify, submit. If they should have no access, remove them after the new primary is working. Do not leave a person who left the business as the only primary. Document the change internally so your books match GSTN.

Does the new signatory need their own DSC?

If your constitution must file with DSC (companies and LLPs typically), the person who clicks Submit with DSC needs a DSC whose PAN matches them, registered under Register / Update DSC after they are an authorized signatory. Proprietors who file with EVC still need the new mobile for EVC OTP. Register DSC from gst.gov.in, not from a forwarded installer. Change of signatory without DSC registration is how the next 3B night dies on a blank signer window.

GST Atka is not a GSTN office. File on gst.gov.in. Rules change. Do not evade tax. Personal case: get local help.