Gauhati High Court Allows GST Registration Revival Subject to Filing Returns and Clearing Dues

The Gauhati High Court directed the concerned tax authorities to consider the petitioner’s application seeking the GST revocation if he furnishes all his pending GST returns and pays all arrears, including tax, penalty, interest, and late fees.

The petitioner named Md Nekib Hussain challenged an order dated March 09, 2023, by which his GST registration was cancelled by the Superintendent, CGST, Dhaligaon Range, Goalpara-2, on the grounds of non-filing of GST returns for a continuous period of 6 (six) months.

The petitioner is registered under the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017, and the Assam Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, 2017. On January 15, 2023, he was served with a Show Cause Notice (SCN), granting him 30 days of time to respond and appear for the personal hearing on February 13, 2023. However, before he could respond to the notice, his GST registration was suspended, effective from January 15, 2023, and thereafter was cancelled on March 09, 2023, without even specifying any proper reason behind the cancellation.

During the personal hearing before the Gauhati High Court, the petitioner counsel claimed that he could not furnish GST returns for 6 continuous months due to the fault/negligence of his tax consultant, as he never informed the petitioner about the non-compliance of the CGST/AGST Act. However, he still tried to seek GST registration revocation by filing the application; however, he could not do so as the prescribed time limit had already ended. Further claimed that he also tried furnishing all pending GST returns; however, he failed to do so due to the portal’s restrictions.

The petitioner prays the court to direct the tax authorities to restore his GST registration; in return, he is ready to adhere to all the formalities of sub-rule (4) of Rule 22 of the CGST Rule, 2017. To announce the final decision in the present case, the court referenced a judgement order dated October 17, 2025, passed by a coordinate bench of this court in the case of Dhirghat Hardware Stores. In view of the judgement delivered in this case, the court held that the petitioner is entitled to the same relief granted in the case of Dhirghat Hardware Stores.

Accordingly, the petitioner has been allowed to appeal before the concerned authority within 60 days from today, seeking restoration of his GST registration. If the petitioner complies with the provisions of Rule 22 (4) of the CGST Rules, 2017, files all his pending GST returns and pays all arrears, including tax, penalty, interest and late fees, then the concerned authorities must consider the petitioner’s application seeking the GST restoration.