Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Smti. Rekhamoni Goswami, sole proprietor of M/s New India Electricals, was registered under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, holding registration certificate GSTIN 18ACPPG9341R2ZN dated 18.05.2018. She was issued a show cause notice on 04.01.2021 to show cause why her registration should not be cancelled for non-furnishing of returns for six months, with only seven days to reply and a personal appearance date fixed the same day. The petitioner, stating she was not conversant with the online GST portal procedure, did not check the portal for several weeks and became aware of the notice only after the time to reply and appear had lapsed; her registration was cancelled. In January 2022, she updated her GST returns up to January 2021 as permitted by the portal and then attempted to apply for revocation of cancellation, but the portal displayed that the 270-day window from the cancellation order to file such an application had already expired.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether a taxpayer whose GST registration was cancelled for non-filing of returns, and who has missed the statutory 270-day window for filing a revocation application, can be permitted a further opportunity to seek revocation.
  2. Whether such relief can be made conditional on clearing pending returns, tax dues, interest and late fee.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • Cancellation of the registration has seriously jeopardised the petitioner's business activities and its continuation would visit civil consequences on her.
  • Relied on two co-ordinate bench orders of the same High Court (W.P.(C) No. 887/2023 and W.P.(C) No. 5752/2023) where, in similar circumstances, petitioners were permitted to approach the GST authorities for restoration, with the authorities directed to consider revocation of cancellation.
  • The petitioner is ready and willing to furnish all pending returns and make full payment of tax dues along with applicable interest and late fee.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The learned Standing Counsel, GST did not dispute the precedents cited by the petitioner and submitted that the GST authorities would consider revocation of cancellation if the petitioner filed an application and was ready to furnish pending returns and pay dues, interest and late fee as prescribed under the CGST Act and Rules.

Court Order/Findings

  • Following the directions in W.P.(C) No. 887/2023 and W.P.(C) No. 5752/2023, the Court held that the petitioner should be granted a fresh opportunity, within 15 days, to approach the GST authorities with an application seeking revocation of cancellation, along with all pending returns and full payment of tax dues, interest and late fee as per the extant Act and Rules.
  • The Court expressly made no observation on the merits of the original cancellation while granting this window.
  • The GST authorities were directed to consider any such revocation application as expeditiously as possible.
  • The writ petition was disposed of accordingly, with no order as to costs.

Important Clarification

  • Even where the statutory 270-day window to apply for revocation of cancellation of GST registration has expired, High Courts have been willing to grant a further limited window to approach the authority, conditional on clearing all pending returns and dues, following consistent precedent within the same court.
  • Such relief is granted without expressing any view on the merits of the original cancellation, leaving the actual decision on revocation to the departmental authority once the taxpayer complies with the return-filing and payment conditions.

Sections Involved

  • Section 29, Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 – Cancellation of registration for continuous default in filing returns.
  • Section 30, Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 – Revocation of cancellation of registration.

Decision – In Favour of

The decision favours the Assessee, though in a qualified way — the petition was disposed of with directions granting a fresh opportunity to seek revocation of the cancellation, subject to compliance conditions, without any ruling on the merits of the cancellation itself.

Related Case Laws

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

Case Details

  • Court: Gauhati High Court
  • Case No.: WP(C)/7018/2023
  • CNR: GAHC010274242023
  • Coram: Hon'ble Mr Justice Manish Choudhury
  • Decision Date: 08.12.2023
  • Disposal Nature: Disposed of - petitioner permitted to apply for revocation of GST registration cancellation, subject to filing pending returns and paying dues

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