Facts of the Case

M/s A. B. Developers, a registered partnership firm, had its GST registration cancelled by order dated 11.07.2024 passed by the State Taxes Officer, Commercial Tax Circle H-Kashmir, after it failed to respond to a show cause notice dated 13.11.2023 alleging non-compliance in return filing due to unforeseen financial constraints and personal hardship. Its appeal against the cancellation order, filed on 10.05.2025 in Form GST APL-1, was dismissed by the Appellate Authority on 02.06.2025 on the technical ground of limitation, without examination on merits. The firm approached the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh under Article 226.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether a GST registration cancelled for non-compliance, whose statutory appeal was dismissed purely on the ground of limitation, can still be restored by the writ court.
  2. On what conditions restoration should be directed, consistent with the Court's practice in similarly situated cases.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioner submitted the appeal against the cancellation order was dismissed on a purely technical ground of limitation without any examination of the merits, and sought quashing of both the cancellation and appellate orders with restoration of its registration.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The respondents objected to maintainability, relying on the Court's earlier ruling in Jatinder Singh vs UT of J&K and others, but did not dispute the settled practice of restoring registration on terms in comparable cases.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court noted that in similar cases — including its orders dated 29.04.2024 (WP(C) No.873/2024), 01.04.2024 (WP(C) No.182/2024) and 26.07.2024 (WP(C) No.1061/2024) — registration was restored on the department's own concession, subject to the defaulting dealer undertaking to deposit tax, penalty and interest and comply with the law.
  • Without expressing any opinion on the merits, the Court directed the petitioner to approach the Competent Authority for restoration within seven days, with the Authority directed to restore the GST number immediately, subject to completion of requisite formalities.
  • The petitioner was directed to file returns and deposit taxes, penalty and interest within the same seven-day period, failing which the order would automatically cease to operate.

Important Clarification

  • A GST registration cancellation upheld (or left unexamined on merits) by an appellate dismissal on limitation is not necessarily final — the writ court will still direct restoration on a short compliance timeline, following its own settled concession-based template for defaulting dealers willing to regularise their filings and dues.

Sections Involved

  • Section 29, Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 – cancellation of registration.
  • Section 107, Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 – statutory appeal against cancellation, dismissed here on limitation.
  • Form GST APL-1, CGST Rules, 2017 – form for filing the first appeal.

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of with directions; in favour of the Assessee, with restoration made conditional on compliance within seven days, and no opinion expressed on merits.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh at Srinagar
  • Case No.: WP(C) No. 1839/2025
  • Coram: Justice Sindhu Sharma and Justice Shahzad Azeem
  • Date of Order: 20.08.2025

Link to Download the Order

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