M/S J. N. Enterprise And 2 Ors vs. The State Of Assam And 2 Ors

WP(C)/158/2026HC GauhatiGSTCNR GAHC01027532202512 February 2026Bench: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVASHIS BARUAH5 pages

AI SummaryRemanded

Facts

The petitioners, M/s J. N. Enterprise and its partners, challenged an order dated 06.03.2024 by the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Guwahati, which cancelled their GST registration. The cancellation was based on a violation of Rule 21(d) of the CGST Rules, 2017, specifically for not complying with Rule 10A concerning bank details. A show cause notice dated 27.06.2023 was issued via the GST portal, which the petitioners claim escaped their attention, leading to no reply being filed. The registration was suspended from 27.06.2023 and cancelled effective 06.03.2024. The petitioners discovered the cancellation in September 2025 and found that the time limits for filing an appeal or seeking revocation had expired.

Held

The Court held that the show cause notice dated 27.06.2023, which provided only seven days for the petitioners to reply, was contrary to Rule 21(2A)(b) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, which mandates a period of thirty days. The Court found this procedural irregularity to be a ground for interference with the cancellation of registration. Consequently, the order of cancellation of registration dated 06.03.2024 was set aside and quashed. The Court directed the petitioners to file returns from 27.06.2023 until the date of the order within 30 days, noting that if returns were already filed, re-filing would not be necessary. The period stipulated in Section 73(10) of the CGST Act, 2017, for certain actions, was to be computed from the date of the judgment, with an exception for the financial year 2025-26, which would follow Section 44 of the CGST Act, 2017. The petitioners were also directed to pay arrears of tax, penalty, interest, and late fees.

Key Issues

1. Whether the show cause notice issued for cancellation of GST registration, providing only seven days for reply, is contrary to the mandatory thirty-day period stipulated in Rule 21(2A)(b) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017? Petitioner's Argument: The petitioners contended that the show cause notice dated 27.06.2023, which granted only seven days for them to furnish a reply, was contrary to Rule 21(2A)(b) of the CGST Rules, 2017, as this rule mandates a period of thirty days for response. They argued that this procedural defect vitiated the subsequent cancellation order. Revenue's Argument: The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the revenue or state in response to this issue.

Sections Cited

Rule 21(d), Rule 10A, Rule 21(2A)(b), Section 73(10), Section 44

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances

Page No.# 1/5 GAHC010275322025 2026:GAU-AS:2140 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WP(C)/158/2026 M/S J. N. ENTERPRISE AND 2 ORS REPRESENTED BY ITS PARTNER SRI JOHIRUL ISLAM, ADDRESS- BHAOURI BHITHA, CHHAYGAON, HATISHOLA, UTTAR PBHAOURI BHITHA, KAMRUP, ASSAM, PIN- 781137. 2: JOHIRUL ISLAM S/O- SAMSUL HAQUE R/O- VILL.- HATISHILA GAON BHAOURI BHITHA CHHAYGAON DIST. KAMRUP ASSAM PIN- 781136. 3: SMT. NURJAHAN AHMED W/O- JOHIRUL ISLAM R/O- VILL.- HATISHILA GAON BHAOURI BHITHA CHHAYGAON DIST. KAMRUP ASSAM PIN- 781136 VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 2 ORS REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECY. TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM, FINANCE AND TAXATION DEPTT., JANATA BHAWAN, DISPUR, GUWAHATI- 6, ASSAM. 2:THE COMMISSIONER OF STATE TAX ASSAM KAR BHAWAN G.S. ROAD Page No.# 2/5 DISPUR GUWAHATI-781006. 3:THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF STATE TAX GUWAHATI ZONE-A GUWAHATI DIVISION GANESHGURI KAMRUP METRO ASSAM-781005 BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVASHIS BARUAH For the Petitioner(s) : Mr. S. Dey, Advocate For the Respondent(s) : Mr. B. Gogoi, Addl. A.G. Date on which judgment was reserved : NA Date of pronouncement of judgment : 13.02.2026 Whether the pronouncement is of the Operative part of the judgment? : NA Whether the full judgment has been pronounced? : Yes

JUDGMENT AND ORDER (ORAL) Heard Mr. S. Dey, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners. I have also heard Mr. B. Gogoi, the learned Additional Advocate General, Assam appearing on behalf of the respondents.

The petitioners herein have filed the instant writ petition

Page No.# 3/5 challenging the order dated 06.03.2024 passed by the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Guwahati whereby the petitioners’ registration was cancelled. The brief facts which led to the filing of the instant writ petition are narrated herein under.

The petitioner No. 1 is a partnership concern consisting of two partners i.e. the petitioner Nos. 2 and 3. For the purpose of carrying on the business, the petitioners were registered under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and were issued a registration number bearing 18AATFJ2546F1Z2. 4. It is the case of the petitioners herein that the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Guwahati i.e. the respondent No.3 issued a show cause notice for cancellation of the registration in Form GST REG-17 dated 27.06.2023 to the petitioners in the portal. It was further mentioned in the said show cause notice that the registration of the petitioners stood suspended w.e.f. 27.06.2023. As the said notice was only put in the portal, it escaped the attention of the petitioners and accordingly, the petitioners did not file any reply. On 06.03.2024, the respondent No.3 cancelled the registration on the ground of violating Rule 21(d) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 (person violates the provision of Rule 10A (Bank details). The cancellation of the registration was given effect from 06.03.2024. 5. It is the further case of the petitioners that in September 2025,

Page No.# 4/5 when they sought to make their business functional, they checked the status of their GST registration and consulted their Tax Adviser. Upon verification of the GST Web Portal, it was found that the petitioners’ GST registration had been cancelled. The petitioners thereafter sought to prefer an appeal against the cancellation of their GST registration; however, the prescribed period of three months for filing the appeal, as well as the additional condonable period of one month, had already expired. Similarly, the limitation period for filing an application for revocation of the order cancelling the GST registration had also expired. It is under such circumstances that the instant writ petition has been filed.

At this stage, this Court finds it pertinent to take note of the show cause notice dated 27.06.2023, whereby the petitioners were granted seven (7) days’ time from the date of service of the said notice to furnish their reply. However, in the opinion of this Court, the said show cause notice was contrary to Rule 21(2A)(b) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, inasmuch as the notice issued provided only seven days’ time, whereas the said Rule mandates a period of thirty days.

It is the opinion of this Court that the cancellation of the Registration is required to be interfered with as the cancellation was made following the mandate of Rule 21(2A)(b) of the Central Goods

Page No.# 5/5 and Services Tax Rules, 2017. Accordingly, the instant writ petition stands disposed of with the following observations and directions:- (i) The order of cancellation of registration dated 06.03.2024 is set aside and quashed. (ii) The petitioners herein are directed to file the returns for the period from 27.06.2023 till date, within 30 days from the date of the instant order. It is observed that if the returns have been filed, there shall no necessity for filing again. (iii) The period as stipulated in Section 73(10) of the CGST Act of 2017 shall be computed from the date of the instant judgment, except for the financial year 2025-26, which shall be as per Section 44 of the CGST Act of 2017. (iv) The petitioners herein shall also be liable to make payment of the arrears, i.e. tax, penalty, interest and late fees.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant

Reproduced from the public record of the Gauhati High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.