Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Romesh S/o Basavaraj Mudhol, a contractor from Kalaburagi, Karnataka, holding GST registration No.29BLEPR3392E3ZR, had his registration cancelled by an order dated 20.11.2023 in Form GST REG-19 (Order No.ZA291123082147K), passed by the Superintendent of Central Excise and Central Tax (GST), Gulbarga-A Range (second respondent), on the ground that he had not responded to the show-cause notice. His appeal against the cancellation, filed before the Joint Commissioner, GST (Appeals), Belagavi (first respondent), was also rejected vide order dated 13.10.2025 as being barred by limitation. Aggrieved, the petitioner approached the Kalaburagi Bench of the Karnataka High Court under Article 226 seeking quashing of both orders and restoration of his GST registration to enable him to resume filing returns.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the cancellation of GST registration for non-response to a show-cause notice, coupled with a time-barred rejection of the statutory appeal, should be interfered with in writ jurisdiction where a coordinate bench has already granted identical relief on parity.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • Relied on an order of a coordinate bench of the same Court dated 28.08.2024 in W.P.No.21725/2024, passed on an identical factual matrix.
  • Submitted that since the petitioner's case was similarly situated, the present petition ought to be allowed on the principle of parity, with restoration of the GST registration and permission to file returns.

Respondent's Arguments

  • Learned counsel appearing for the respondents did not dispute the factual and legal position placed by the petitioner, effectively accepting that the matter was covered by the earlier coordinate bench order.

Court Order / Findings

  • Noted that the coordinate bench, on identical facts, had quashed both the cancellation order and the appellate rejection, and had directed reinstatement of the GST registration.
  • Held the petitioner, being similarly situated, was equally entitled to the same relief.
  • Allowed the writ petition and quashed both the appellate order dated 13.10.2025 and the cancellation order dated 20.11.2023 (Form GST REG-19, Order No.ZA291123082147K).
  • Directed the second respondent to reinstate/restore GST registration No.29BLEPR3392E3ZR within four weeks of receipt of the certified copy, subject to the petitioner filing his GST returns and paying up-to-date tax with applicable interest within the same period.

Important Clarification

  • Where a GST registration has been cancelled for non-response to a show-cause notice and the statutory appeal is dismissed as time-barred, a writ court will restore the registration where a coordinate bench has already granted identical relief on the same facts, applying the principle of parity.
  • Such restoration is not unconditional -- it is invariably tied to the taxpayer filing all pending returns and clearing tax dues with interest within a fixed timeframe, so that the relief does not become a device to escape compliance.

Sections Involved

  • Section 29, CGST Act, 2017 -- empowers cancellation of GST registration, including for failure to respond to a show-cause notice.
  • Section 107, CGST Act, 2017 -- governs the statutory appeal against cancellation orders, including the limitation period that led to the appellate rejection here.

Decision – In Favour of

In favour of the Assessee: the writ petition was allowed, both the cancellation order and the time-barred appellate rejection were quashed, and restoration of GST registration was directed, subject to the petitioner filing pending returns and clearing dues with interest.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Karnataka, Kalaburagi Bench
Case No.: WP No.203269 of 2025 (T-RES)
Neutral Citation: 2025:KHC-K:6469
Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.G.S. Kamal
Date of Order: 03.11.2025

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