Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Sri Ayyappa Enterprises, a proprietorship registered under GST, challenged an order dated 15.03.2025 (Reference No. ZA370325038267G) passed by the Assistant Commissioner, Penamaluru, Vijayawada, cancelling its GST registration. The petitioner sought a writ of mandamus declaring the cancellation illegal, arbitrary, without jurisdiction and violative of principles of natural justice as well as of Section 29 of the GST Act, 2017, and sought restoration of the registration.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the cancellation of the petitioner's GST registration warranted interference in writ jurisdiction.
  2. Whether the petitioner could be granted an opportunity to seek revocation of the cancellation on compliance with statutory requirements, in line with the Court's earlier ruling on identical facts.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The cancellation order was illegal, arbitrary and passed without jurisdiction, in violation of natural justice and Section 29 of the GST Act, 2017.
  • The Court should set aside the cancellation and direct restoration of the registration.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The Government Pleader for Commercial Tax appeared for the respondents; no serious opposition was raised to the Court following its earlier co-ordinate ruling on similar facts.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Division Bench noted that in a similar circumstance, it had, by order dated 16.10.2024 in W.P.No.18308 of 2024, disposed of a writ petition with certain directions.
  • Following that judgment, the Court disposed of the present writ petition with a detailed set of directions: the petitioner was to file an application for revocation of cancellation on or before 15.10.2025, along with draft returns proposed to be filed on restoration, and to deposit all taxes due by the same date.
  • The 1st respondent, as Registering Authority-cum-Assigning Authority, was directed to receive such payment prior to considering the revocation application, and to pass orders on the application within 15 days of receipt.
  • If the plea was accepted, the registration would be restored and the petitioner would file all pending returns; if manual filing became necessary due to any online difficulty, the respondent was directed to accept it.
  • No costs were awarded.

Important Clarification

  • Where a registered person's GST registration has been cancelled, courts routinely permit the assessee a structured route back into the GST system — filing a revocation application with draft returns and full payment of due taxes within a fixed timeline, with the authority bound to decide within 15 days — rather than adjudicating the legality of the cancellation itself.
  • Difficulty in online filing of the revocation application is not a valid ground for denial; manual filing must be accepted by the authority in such circumstances.

Sections Involved

  • Section 29 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — governs cancellation of GST registration, including on grounds alleged to be arbitrary or in violation of natural justice.
  • Article 226 of the Constitution of India — invoked for the writ of mandamus seeking to declare the cancellation illegal and to restore registration.

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of with directions substantially in favour of the Assessee, permitting revocation of the cancellation subject to deposit of taxes due and compliance with the prescribed timeline.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravati
Case No.: Writ Petition No. 26198 of 2025
Coram: Hon'ble Sri Justice R. Raghunandan Rao and Hon'ble Sri Justice T.C.D. Sekhar
Date of Order: 24th September, 2025

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