Facts of the Case

The petitioner-firm's GST registration was cancelled by order dated 14.10.2020 by the Assistant Commissioner, Tanakpur. The petitioner preferred Appeal No.26 of 2021 under Section 107 of the GST Act, challenging the cancellation. While the appeal was pending, a Special Appeal (No.123 of 2022) before the same High Court held that an appeal would not lie against orders of the Commissioner and, by extension, against orders of the Assistant Commissioner, including cancellation of GST registration, causing the Appellate Authority to stop entertaining the pending appeal. The petitioner accordingly filed an application for withdrawal of the appeal and pursued a writ petition, which it also sought to withdraw once a Review Application in the Special Appeal reversed the earlier ruling on 24.06.2024, restoring the Appellate Authority's jurisdiction. In the interregnum, the Appellate Authority had already dismissed the appeal as infructuous on the strength of the withdrawal application, and the petitioner's subsequent restoration application was rejected by the impugned order dated 24.06.2025.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the Appellate Authority was justified in rejecting the petitioner's application for restoration of Appeal No.26 of 2021 against cancellation of GST registration, given that the underlying jurisdictional ruling which had caused the appeal to be treated as infructuous was subsequently reviewed and reversed.
  2. Whether the petitioner, in these peculiar circumstances, should be left without any remedy against the cancellation of its registration.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The appeal ought to be restored since the jurisdictional question — whether an appeal lies against an order of the Assistant Commissioner — stood resolved in the petitioner's favour by the review order dated 24.06.2024.
  • Rejection of the restoration application left the petitioner remediless against cancellation of its GST registration, which directly affects its livelihood and also has an adverse effect on the revenue of the State.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The counsel for the respondent State submitted that the respondent had no objection if the petitioner's case were considered by the Appellate Authority afresh.

Court Order / Findings

  • Having regard to the peculiar facts and circumstances — that the appeal was rendered infructuous only because of a jurisdictional ruling that was later reviewed and reversed — the Court held the case required its interference.
  • The impugned order dated 24.06.2025 rejecting the restoration application was set aside, and Appeal No.26 of 2021 was restored to its original number.
  • The Appellate Authority was directed to decide the appeal in accordance with law.

Important Clarification

  • Where a Section 107 appeal against cancellation of GST registration was dismissed as infructuous on account of a since-reviewed ruling that had temporarily ousted the Appellate Authority's jurisdiction, the assessee is entitled to have the appeal restored to its original number rather than being rendered without remedy, especially where cancellation of registration directly affects the assessee's livelihood and the State does not object to a fresh hearing on merits.

Sections Involved

  • Section 107, CGST/Uttarakhand GST Act, 2017 — appeal against orders, including cancellation of registration, to the Appellate Authority.
  • Section 29, CGST Act, 2017 — cancellation of registration.
  • Section 2(91), CGST Act, 2017 — definition of 'proper officer', referenced in the earlier jurisdictional controversy regarding whether the Assistant Commissioner's orders are appealable.

Decision – In Favour of

In favour of the Assessee. The rejection of the restoration application was set aside and the appeal restored for decision on merits.

Case Details

High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital; Writ Petition (M/B) No.623 of 2025; Neutral Citation: 2025:UHC:7998-DB; Coram: Hon'ble The Chief Justice G. Narendar and Hon'ble Justice Subhash Upadhyay; Date of Order: 09.09.2025.

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