Binita Borgohain vs. Union Of INDIA And 4 Ors

Held

The Court noted the petitioner's grievance regarding the cancellation of GST registration and its impact on business. The Standing Counsel for GST, on instruction, informed the Court that the cancellation can be revoked immediately upon the petitioner filing up-to-date returns and paying all statutory dues as per Rule 23 of the CGST Rules, 2017. The petitioner's counsel confirmed that the client had already deposited necessary dues and would pay any further amounts required. Given this consensus, the Court, with the consent of both sides, disposed of the writ petition. The respondents were directed to restore the petitioner's GST registration immediately upon the petitioner filing the required returns and depositing all statutory dues in accordance with the Rules. The Court emphasized that this exercise should be carried out as expeditiously as possible. The issue of whether the appeal was correctly rejected as time-barred was implicitly resolved by directing restoration upon compliance with the rules, bypassing the need for a formal decision on the appeal's timeliness.

Facts

The petitioner, Binita Borgohain, engaged in works contract business, obtained GST registration. Due to reasons including the COVID-19 pandemic, the petitioner failed to file returns regularly. Consequently, a show cause notice was issued on January 15, 2023, proposing cancellation of GST registration. An order dated March 2, 2023, cancelled the petitioner's GST registration. An appeal filed by the petitioner against this order was rejected by the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) as time-barred. The petitioner approached the High Court seeking urgent restoration of its GST registration, stating that the cancellation has severely hampered its business.

Key Issues

1. Whether the cancellation of the petitioner's GST registration is justified, considering the reasons for non-filing of returns, including the COVID-19 pandemic? 2. Whether the appellate authority erred in rejecting the petitioner's appeal as time-barred? The petitioner argued that the cancellation of GST registration has seriously hampered its business activities and sought an urgent order for its restoration. The petitioner also indicated willingness to deposit any further amounts due under the Rules. The respondents, represented by the Standing Counsel for GST, submitted that the cancellation of GST registration can be revoked immediately if the petitioner files up-to-date returns and pays the tax amount due along with other statutory dues as per Rule 23 of the CGST Rules, 2017.