Facts of the Case

The petitioner, M/s Regimental Printing Press, operating at the Bihar Regimental Centre, Danapur Cantonment, had its GST registration cancelled by order dated 13.07.2021 (Annexure-1), passed in Form GST REG-19. A delayed appeal against the cancellation also stood rejected, and no GST Appellate Tribunal had been constituted for the State of Bihar. The petitioner approached the Patna High Court contending the cancellation order was a non-speaking order.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the GST registration cancellation order in Form GST REG-19, silent on reasons, could be sustained.
  2. Whether the CBIC's amnesty Notification No.3 of 2023 provided the petitioner an alternative avenue for revocation.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioner argued the cancellation order disclosed no reasons whatsoever for the cancellation, and did not even refer to the subject matter of the underlying show cause notice.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The State's counsel submitted that the prescribed Form GST REG-19 had been duly adopted by the Assessing Officer for passing the cancellation order.

Court Order / Findings

  • Examining Form GST REG-19 under the Bihar GST Rules, 2017, the Court found it contains a specific column for reasons, but the Assessing Officer had proceeded on the mistaken belief that no reasons need be recorded where the assessee neither appears nor files an objection.
  • Following its own Division Bench ruling in Manoj Kumar Sah v. State of Bihar (C.W.J.C. No.18307 of 2022), the Court held that the order suffered from the very same illegality — being non-speaking, cryptic, and with the reason for cancellation not decipherable — and thus stood in violation of natural justice given its civil and penal consequences.
  • The cancellation order dated 13.07.2021 was set aside and the issue remanded for reconsideration.
  • The Court again noted Notification No.3 of 2023, permitting registered persons whose registration was cancelled under Section 29(2)(b)/(c) a window up to 30.06.2023 to apply for revocation, subject to filing due returns and paying tax, interest, penalty and late fee.
  • The writ petition was allowed.

Important Clarification

  • A Form GST REG-19 cancellation order must record the actual reasons for cancellation; the absence of an appearance or objection from the assessee does not excuse the authority from stating reasons.
  • CBIC Notification No.3 of 2023 gave a further window till 30.06.2023 to seek revocation for registrations cancelled under Section 29(2)(b)/(c), independent of any writ challenge to the cancellation order.

Sections Involved

  • Section 29(2)(b)/(c), 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, the subject of the amnesty Notification No.3 of 2023.

Decision – In Favour of

The decision is in favour of the Assessee — the non-speaking cancellation order was set aside and the matter remanded for a reasoned decision.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Judicature at Patna
Case No.: CWJC No.4887 of 2023
Coram: Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Madhuresh Prasad
Date of Order: 29.04.2023

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