HC Orders Restoration of Cancelled GST Registration on Payment of Outstanding Dues:

The Gauhati High Court has directed the Central GST authorities to restore the GST registration of a proprietor whose registration was cancelled for non-filing of returns, subject to payment of all outstanding statutory dues within the prescribed time.

The petitioner, Tai Miri, carrying on business under the proprietary concern M/s H.A.C.A. Enterprise, challenged the order dated 27 May 2023 by which the Superintendent of CGST, Naharlagun Zone-I, cancelled his GST registration for continuous non-filing of GST returns.

The petitioner submitted that due to financial difficulties, he was forced to discontinue business operations and could not file GST returns from March 2021 onwards. A show-cause notice was issued in January 2023 for non-filing of returns for six consecutive months. However, since GST compliances had been handled by GST practitioners and Chartered Accountants, the petitioner did not regularly monitor the GST portal or his email and remained unaware of the notice. Consequently, he neither filed a reply nor submitted the pending returns, resulting in the cancellation of his GST registration.

It was further argued that since the statutory time limit for seeking revocation of cancellation had expired and the GST portal no longer permitted filing of returns beyond three years from the due date, the petitioner was left without any effective statutory remedy. Relying on the Gauhati High Court's earlier decision in Rakhe Achi v. Union of India, the petitioner sought restoration of registration on payment of all outstanding dues.

The Revenue fairly conceded that the issue was identical to the one decided earlier by the High Court in Rakhe Achi and connected matters.

Accepting the petitioner's contention, the High Court held that the case was squarely covered by its earlier decision and granted the same relief. The Court directed the Superintendent of CGST to intimate the petitioner regarding all outstanding statutory dues, including any applicable penalty or fine, up to the date of restoration. The petitioner was directed to clear the entire dues within 21 days of receiving the intimation. Upon proof of payment within the stipulated period, the CGST authorities were directed to revoke the cancellation order dated 27 May 2023 and restore the petitioner's GST registration.

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