Facts of the Case

The petitioner, M/s Maharaj Ji Enterprises, through its proprietor, held a GST registration with the Madhubani Circle which was cancelled on 22.02.2023 for non-filing of returns for a continuous period of six months — a cancellation the petitioner did not dispute. After updating returns and paying tax to the extent the GST portal permitted, the petitioner applied for a fresh registration. It was then served a notice dated 06.08.2024 asking it to file all pending returns of the earlier registration up to the month preceding the fresh application. The petitioner claimed this was technically impossible since the portal offered no option to file returns after February 2023. The Deputy Commissioner of State Tax, Madhubani, subsequently passed a one-line, unreasoned order dated 17.08.2024 rejecting the fresh registration application.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether a fresh application for GST registration is legally barred where the applicant's earlier registration was cancelled for non-furnishing of returns and no revocation application or appeal was filed.
  2. Whether an order rejecting a fresh registration application, passed without recording the findings mandated by CBIC Circular No. 95/14/2019-GST, can be sustained.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The technical glitch on the GST portal made it impossible to file returns for the period after February 2023, and this difficulty was orally conveyed to the officer.
  • Annexure P/6, the rejection order, was a one-line order with no reasons, and the notice preceding it (Annexure P/5) did not even refer to Section 29(2)(b) of the CGST/BGST Act.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The petitioner neither filed a revocation application against the earlier cancellation nor an appeal before the Appellate Authority.
  • Since the petitioner already held a registration on the same PAN that was cancelled for non-compliance, the fresh application was rejected in accordance with CBIC Circular No. 95/14/2019-GST dated 28.03.2019.
  • The petitioner could have availed the amnesty scheme for restoration of cancelled registrations, and appeared to be a gross non-compliant seeking to evade tax liability.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court held that on a bare reading of CBIC Circular No. 95/14/2019-GST, a fresh registration application is not barred; what is required is a recorded finding by the Proper Officer that no revocation application has been filed and that the conditions under Section 29(2)(b)/(c) still continue.
  • Reproducing Section 29(2) of the CGST Act, the Court found that Annexure P/6 was a completely unreasoned order containing no such finding, and that the actual reason recorded in the counter affidavit did not match the issue raised in the notice at Annexure P/5.
  • The rejection order was accordingly held to be unreasoned and set aside, with the matter remitted to the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax, Madhubani, for fresh consideration, allowing the petitioner an opportunity to comply with any statutory requirements before a fresh order is passed.

Important Clarification

  • A fresh GST registration application is not automatically barred merely because the applicant's earlier registration on the same PAN was cancelled; the Proper Officer must specifically record, per CBIC Circular No. 95/14/2019-GST, that no revocation application was filed and that the grounds under Section 29(2)(b)/(c) still subsist.
  • A rejection order that fails to engage with these statutory requirements — or that rests on grounds never put to the applicant in the preceding notice — is liable to be treated as an unreasoned order and set aside.

Sections Involved

  • Section 29(2), CGST Act, 2017 – grounds on which the proper officer may cancel a registration, including non-furnishing of returns for a continuous period of six months.
  • CBIC Circular No. 95/14/2019-GST dated 28.03.2019 – clarifies the standard for considering a fresh registration application after cancellation of an earlier one.

Decision – In Favour of

Allowed in favour of the Assessee — the unreasoned rejection of the fresh registration application was set aside and the matter remanded for fresh, reasoned consideration.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Judicature at Patna
  • Case No.: Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 15175 of 2024
  • Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ashok Kumar Pandey
  • Date of Order: 16 July 2025

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