Mohammad Shahnavaz vs. Assistant Commissioner SGST

Held

The Court held that the present writ petition should be disposed of in terms of the relief granted in paragraph 8 of the order in Writ Petition (M/B) No. 39 of 2025. This means the petitioner is permitted to move an application for revocation of the cancellation order. If the petitioner files such an application within two weeks from the date of the order, and simultaneously furnishes all pending returns, deposits the unpaid tax along with interest and penalty, the Competent Authority shall consider the prayer for revocation as per law within four weeks from the date of receipt of the application. The Court did not expressly leave any issue undecided.

Facts

The petitioner, Mohammad Shahnavaz, filed a writ petition challenging the cancellation of his GST registration by the Assistant Commissioner, State Goods and Service Tax. The cancellation was based on the petitioner's failure to furnish GST returns for the prescribed period. The petitioner sought a similar order as granted in a previous writ petition (Writ Petition (M/B) No. 39/2025), where the petitioner was permitted to apply for revocation of the cancellation order. The respondent, the State of Uttarakhand, had no objection to this course of action. The High Court considered an order dated 24.02.2025 in Writ Petition (M/B) No. 39/2025, which dealt with a similar issue.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner should be permitted to file an application for revocation of the GST registration cancellation order, considering the precedent set in Writ Petition (M/B) No. 39/2025. Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that a similar relief as granted in Writ Petition (M/B) No. 39/2025 should be extended to him, allowing him to apply for revocation of the cancellation order. He relied on a judgment by a learned Single Judge in Writ Petition (M/S) No. 3283 of 2024, which permitted such an application. Respondent's contention: The learned Brief Holder for the State of Uttarakhand stated that they had no objection if the petitioner was permitted to move an appropriate application for revocation of the cancellation order.