Janarden Pandey vs. Avato Ward 77 State Goods And Service Tax & Anr.

Facts

The petitioner, Janarden Pandey, who was registered under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, filed an application for cancellation of his registration on March 1, 2023, citing discontinuation of business. The petitioner contends that this application has not yet been disposed of by the respondents, who are the State Goods and Service Tax authorities. The petitioner approached the High Court of Delhi seeking a direction for the respondents to process and decide the pending application for cancellation of registration.

Held

The Court held that the Proper Officer should dispose of the petitioner's application seeking cancellation of registration within four weeks from the date of the order. If the application had already been disposed of, the order pertaining to its disposal should be communicated to the petitioner within the same four-week period. The Court's reasoning was based on the petitioner's plea that the application filed on March 1, 2023, remained undecided. The ratio of this decision is that High Courts can direct tax authorities to expedite and decide pending applications for registration cancellation within a stipulated timeframe. The operative direction was to dispose of the application or communicate the order within four weeks.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Court should direct the respondents to dispose of the petitioner's application for cancellation of GST registration, filed under Section 29 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, which has allegedly not been acted upon since March 1, 2023. Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that the respondents have failed to dispose of his application for cancellation of registration, which was filed on the ground of discontinuing business, and therefore, the Court should intervene to direct the Proper Officer to decide the application. Respondents' contention: The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the respondents. However, they accepted notice, indicating their appearance and potential engagement with the Court's proceedings.