M/S Balaji Brick Field Thru. Its Proprietor Mr. Pramit Kumar Mishra Hardoi vs. Union Of INDIA Thru. Secy. Ministry Of Finance New Delhi And 5 Others
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The petitioner, M/s Balaji Brick Field, a proprietorship firm engaged in civil work contract, had its GST registration cancelled by an order dated 01.09.2022, purportedly due to non-filing of GST returns. A show cause notice dated 09.07.2022 was issued, requiring a reply within seven working days. The petitioner claims not to have received this notice, preventing a timely response. An appeal against the cancellation order was filed, which was dismissed by the appellate authority (respondent no.5) on 23.01.2023, on grounds of delay, and further directed to revoke the petitioner's GST registration. The present petition challenges these orders.
Held
The Court held that the order of cancellation of registration and the subsequent appellate order dismissing the appeal on grounds of delay were unsustainable. The Court relied on its previous judgment in Writ Tax No.145 of 2022 (Technosum India Pvt. Ltd. Lucknow Vs. Union of India and others), which established that the non-submission of a reply to a show cause notice cannot be the sole ground for cancelling GST registration. The Court found that the impugned orders did not assign any reasons for cancellation other than the non-submission of the reply. Therefore, the petitioner was entitled to the benefit of the earlier judgment. The Court set aside both the order of cancellation dated 01.09.2022 and the appellate order dated 23.01.2023. The petitioner was permitted to appear before the respondent with their reply to the show cause notice and a copy of the High Court's order and the cited judgment within three weeks. The respondents were directed to pass a fresh order in accordance with law upon the petitioner's appearance.
Key Issues
1. Whether the cancellation of GST registration, based solely on the non-submission of a reply to the show cause notice without considering the petitioner's claim of non-receipt of the notice, is a valid ground for cancellation under the GST Act? 2. Whether the petitioner is entitled to the benefit of the High Court's previous judgment in Writ Tax No.145 of 2022 (Technosum India Pvt. Ltd. Lucknow Vs. Union of India and others) dated 26.09.2022, which held that non-submission of a reply to a show cause notice cannot be the sole ground for cancellation of registration? Petitioner's arguments: The petitioner contends that the order dated 01.09.2022 was passed without affording them a hearing, as they did not receive the show cause notice. They argue that the cancellation of registration on the sole ground of non-submission of reply is unsustainable, citing the precedent set in Technosum India Pvt. Ltd. Lucknow. The petitioner seeks the same relief granted in the cited case. Revenue's arguments: The judgment records no specific arguments from the respondents.
Sections Cited
Section 14, Section 29, Section 107
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Court No. - 4 Case :- WRIT TAX No. - 31 of 2023 Petitioner :- M/S Balaji Brick Field Thru. Its Proprietor Mr. Pramit Kumar Mishra Hardoi Respondent :- Union Of India Thru. Secy. Ministry Of Finance New Delhi And 5 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Sanjieva Shankhdhar,Durga Prasad Dubey Counsel for Respondent :- A.S.G.I. Hon'ble Vivek Chaudhary,J. non-submission of reply to the show cause cannot be a ground for cancellation of the registration. The relevant Paragraphs 9 and 10, of the judgment in Technosum India Pvt. Ltd. Lucknow (Supra), read as under:- "
The Counsel for the petitioner argues that the appeal has been dismissed as being beyond limitation as such the doctrine of merger would not apply and the petitioner is fair entitled to seek judicial review of the order dated 03.01.2022 on the ground that the same is non speaking order. This Court while deciding Writ Tax No.147 of 2022 (M/S Chandrasen,
Thus, following the said judgment rendered in the case of M/s Chandrasen (Supra), the writ petition deserves to be allowed." [Vivek Chaudhary,J.] Order Date :- 3.2.2023 -Amit K- AMIT KUMAR High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench
Reproduced from the public record of the Allahabad High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.