Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Navi Infra Solutions, represented by its proprietor Chandra Mouli Pulivarthi, had its GST registration suspended by an order dated 08.11.2022 and subsequently cancelled by an order dated 28.02.2023 passed by the Superintendent of Central Tax, Chittoor-II, Madanapalli CGST Range, on the ground of non-filing of returns for a continuous period of four months. The petitioner challenged both the suspension and cancellation orders under Article 226 of the Constitution, also seeking an interim stay under Section 151 CPC. During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner relied on a screenshot of the department's official website dated 07.10.2023 to show that, even after cancellation, the petitioner had gone on to upload returns for December 2022, January 2023 and February 2023.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the cancellation of GST registration for non-filing of returns could be sustained where the petitioner had subsequently filed the pending returns.
  2. What relief was appropriate in view of the subsequent compliance.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • Returns for the defaulted months had since been uploaded, as evidenced by the department's own portal records, and the cancellation order should accordingly be reconsidered.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The order does not record any detailed opposition by the respondents to the fact of subsequent filing of returns.

Court Order/Findings

  • The Court did not adjudicate the merits of the cancellation but disposed of the writ petition by granting the petitioner liberty to file an application under Section 30 of the CGST/APGST Act for revocation of cancellation within two weeks, directing the jurisdictional authority to consider the application in light of the returns already filed and pass appropriate orders within one week of receiving it.
  • No costs were awarded.

Important Clarification

  • Where a taxpayer has cured the default (by filing pending returns) after cancellation of registration, the appropriate course is ordinarily to pursue statutory revocation under Section 30 rather than seek relief directly in writ jurisdiction; courts will typically relegate such cases to the revocation mechanism with time-bound directions.

Sections Involved

  • Section 29, CGST Act, 2017 – cancellation of registration for non-filing of returns.
  • Section 30, CGST Act, 2017 – revocation of cancellation of registration.

Decision – In Favour of

This is not a merits decision either way – the petition was disposed of with procedural directions giving the petitioner a time-bound opportunity to seek revocation, without the Court ruling on whether the original cancellation was justified; best described as disposed of with directions, procedurally favourable to the assessee's continued pursuit of restoration.

Related Case Laws

No directly on-point case notes are currently published on this site.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravati
  • Case No.: WRIT PETITION NO: 26931 OF 2023
  • CNR: Not available
  • Coram: Hon'ble Sri Justice U. Durga Prasad Rao and Hon'ble Sri Justice A. V. Ravindra Babu
  • Decision Date: 13.10.2023
  • Disposal Nature: Disposed of (petitioner given liberty to seek revocation of cancellation under Section 30 GST/APGST Act)

Link to Download the Order

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