GST Verification

Endpoint Overview

POST /api/v1/canada/gst-verification

Description

This API endpoint allows you to verify the validity of a Canadian Goods and Services Tax (GST) number against official government records. The service checks if the provided GST number is registered and validates it against the associated business name, helping businesses confirm the legitimacy of their suppliers, partners, or customers for tax compliance purposes.

Key Benefits

Instant verification of GST registration status

Reduces fraud risk by confirming tax credentials of business partners

Ensures tax compliance for B2B transactions

Streamlines vendor onboarding and verification processes

Use Cases

Financial Services

E-commerce

Business Services

Verify GST credentials during business client onboarding

Validate tax information for corporate account setup

Confirm tax compliance status before processing B2B payments

Technical Implementation

Authentication

All API requests require authentication using a JWT Bearer token. Authentication follows these steps:

Obtain API Credentials: Register with Surepass to receive your API key.

Generate JWT Token: Use your API key to generate a JWT token.

Include in Requests: Add the token to the Authorization header as Bearer TOKEN.

Different authentication tokens are used for sandbox and production environments:

Sandbox: https://sandbox.surepass.io

Production: https://kyc-api.surepass.io

Request Parameters

Request Headers

Header	Required	Description
Authorization	Yes	Bearer token authentication using JWT format
Content-Type	Yes	Must be set to `application/json`

Request Body

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
id_number	String	Yes	The GST number to be verified
business_name	String	Yes	The business name associated with the GST number

Example Request

{
    "id_number": "807189821",
    "business_name": "the mule"
}

Process Response

Response Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
data	Object	Contains the verification result details
data.client_id	String	Unique identifier for the verification request
data.id_number	String	The GST number that was verified
data.business_name	String	The business name that was provided for verification
data.is_registered	Boolean	Indicates whether the GST number is registered (true) or not (false)
status_code	Integer	HTTP status code of the response
success	Boolean	Indicates if the API call was successful
message	String	Human-readable description of the result
message_code	String	Machine-readable code representing the result

Example Successful Response

{
    "data": {
        "client_id": "canada_gst_verification_IgfMgMEviIuhYhazmnhV",
        "id_number": "807189832",
        "business_name": "the mule",
        "is_registered": true
    },
    "status_code": 200,
    "success": true,
    "message": "Success",
    "message_code": "success"
}

Possible Error Responses

Invalid GST Number

Authentication Error

Not Found

{
    "data": null,
    "status_code": 400,
    "success": false,
    "message": "Invalid GST number format",
    "message_code": "invalid_input"
}

The provided GST number does not match the required format for Canadian GST numbers.

Integration Best Practices

Security Recommendations

Store API credentials securely and never expose them in client-side code

Implement proper error handling to avoid exposing sensitive information

Rotate JWT tokens periodically and avoid reusing them across different sessions

Implement rate limiting on your end to prevent abuse of the API

User Experience Guidelines

Provide clear feedback to users when GST verification fails

Implement retry logic with exponential backoff for temporary service issues

Cache verification results (where appropriate) to improve response times

Consider implementing batch verification for multiple GST numbers to improve efficiency

Code Samples

cURL

Python

Node.js

Related APIs

Canada Business Number Verification - Verify Canadian business registration numbers

Canada Tax ID Validation - Validate various Canadian tax identification numbers

Canada Business Registry Search - Search for registered Canadian businesses

Compliance and Legal Considerations

This API accesses publicly available Canadian tax registration information. While the data is public, ensure your use complies with applicable privacy laws and regulations. The verification should be used for legitimate business purposes such as vendor verification, tax compliance, or fraud prevention. Storing GST verification results may be subject to data retention policies under Canadian privacy laws.

curl --location --request POST 'https://kyc-api.surepass.app/api/v1/canada/gst-verification' \ --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \ --data-raw '{ "id_number": "807189821", "business_name": "the mule" }'

{ "data": { "client_id": "canada_gst_verification_IgfMgMEviIuhYhazmnhV", "id_number": "807189832", "business_name": "the mule", "is_registered": true }, "status_code": 200, "success": true, "message": "Success", "message_code": "success" }

Provide your bearer token in the

Authorization

header when making requests to protected resources.

Example:

Authorization: Bearer ********************

GST Verification

GST Verification#

Description#

Use Cases#

Technical Implementation#

Request Headers#

Request Body#

Example Request#

Response Parameters#

Example Successful Response#

Possible Error Responses#

Integration Best Practices#

Code Samples#

Request

Responses

GST Verification

Description

Use Cases

Technical Implementation

Request Headers

Request Body

Example Request

Response Parameters

Example Successful Response

Possible Error Responses

Integration Best Practices

Code Samples