Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Deepti Kharkwal, a taxable person registered under the CGST Act, 2017, had her GST registration cancelled by the Assistant Commissioner, State Goods & Services Tax, on account of failure to furnish GST returns for the prescribed period. The petitioner challenged the cancellation order by way of writ petition, and both counsel agreed that the facts were not in dispute and were squarely covered by an identical relief already granted by coordinate Benches of the same High Court in Writ Petition (M/B) No.71 of 2025 and Writ Petition (S/B) No.39 of 2025, decided on near-identical facts of registration cancellation for non-filing of returns.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether a taxpayer whose GST registration was cancelled for non-filing of returns should be permitted to apply for revocation, and on what conditions.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioner relied on an identical order of a coordinate Bench in Writ Petition (S/B) No.39 of 2025, where a similarly-placed taxpayer was permitted to apply for revocation of cancellation, with the authority directed to decide the application within four weeks upon filing of pending returns and payment of unpaid tax, interest and penalty.
  • The petitioner sought identical relief on the same terms, since the facts were not in dispute and were conceded to be similar.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The learned Brief Holder for the State did not object to the petitioner being permitted to move an application for revocation of the cancellation order, consistent with the department's stance in the earlier coordinate Bench matters.

Court Order / Findings

  • Recording the agreement of both counsel that the case was governed by the coordinate Bench's judgment in Writ Petition (M/B) No.71 of 2025 (itself following Writ Petition (S/B) No.39 of 2025), the Court adopted the same operative relief.
  • The Court disposed of the writ petition by permitting the petitioner to move an application for revocation of the cancellation order, directing that if such application is filed within two weeks along with furnishing all pending returns and depositing unpaid tax, interest and penalty, the Competent Authority shall consider the revocation prayer and pass an appropriate order in accordance with law within four weeks of receipt.
  • No order as to costs was made, and pending applications stood closed.

Important Clarification

  • Where GST registration is cancelled for non-filing of returns, courts consistently permit the taxpayer to seek revocation notwithstanding any lapse of the normal statutory window, conditional on filing all pending returns and depositing unpaid tax, interest and penalty within a fixed period.
  • Such relief, once granted by a coordinate Bench on a given fact pattern, is extended as a matter of consistency to similarly-placed taxpayers without requiring fresh adjudication of the underlying merits.

Sections Involved

  • Section 29, CGST Act, 2017 – cancellation of registration for continuous default in filing returns.
  • Rule 23, CGST Rules, 2017 – procedure for revocation of cancellation of registration.

Decision – In Favour of

In favour of the assessee — revocation application permitted on filing pending returns and payment of dues, with a time-bound decision directed.

Case Details

High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital; Writ Petition (M/B) No. 739 of 2025; Coram: Hon'ble the Chief Justice Mr. G. Narendar and Hon'ble Sri Justice Subhash Upadhyay; Date: 02.09.2025.

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