Tvl.Marimuthu Venkateshwaran vs. The Commissioner Of Commercial Taxes

Held

The Court held that the benefit extended in the case of Tvl.Suguna Cutpiece Vs Appellate Deputy Commissioner (ST) (GST) and others should be extended to the present petitioner. The Court ordered that the Writ Petition be allowed on the same terms as mentioned in paragraph 229 of the Suguna Cutpiece Centre order. This implies that the petitioner is directed to file all pending returns prior to the cancellation, along with defaulted tax, interest, and applicable fine/fee within forty-five days. Payments are to be made in cash, not from Input Tax Credit (ITC), and any existing ITC will be subject to scrutiny and approval by the competent authority before utilization for future liabilities. The petitioner must also file returns and pay GST for the period subsequent to cancellation, with payments in cash. The respondents are to take steps to enable the petitioner to file returns and make payments, and the registration shall stand revived upon compliance. The respondents are to complete this exercise within thirty days.

Facts

The petitioner, Tvl.Marimuthu Venkateshwaran, filed a writ petition challenging an order dated 21.04.2022 passed by the Assistant Commissioner (Circle), Theni, cancelling their GST registration. The cancellation was based on the petitioner's failure to file Goods and Services Tax monthly returns. The petitioner stated that non-filing was due to health issues. A show cause notice was issued on 02.02.2022. The petitioner was unable to file an application for revocation of the cancellation within the prescribed time. The petitioner sought to quash the cancellation order and direct the respondents to revoke the cancellation of their GSTIN.

Key Issues

1. Whether the cancellation of the petitioner's GST registration, due to non-filing of returns, should be quashed and revoked, considering the petitioner's submission of health issues and inability to file for revocation in time? The Petitioner argued that the cancellation of GST registration was due to health issues, leading to non-filing of returns. They further contended that they could not file for revocation within the stipulated time. The Petitioner relied on a previous judgment of this Court in Tvl.Suguna Cutpiece Vs The Appellate Deputy Commissioner (ST) (GST) and others (W.P.Nos.25048, 25877, 12738 of 2021 etc., batch), dated 31.01.2022, which provided a set of directions for similar circumstances. The Petitioner highlighted that this Court has consistently followed this precedent in subsequent cases, and the Revenue/Department has accepted this view by not filing appeals. The Respondents did not record any specific arguments in the judgment.