Puran Singh vs. Superintendent

Held

The Court held that the writ petition should be disposed of on terms similar to the order passed in Writ Petition (S/B) No. 39 of 2025. The petitioner was permitted to move an application for revocation of the cancellation order. The Court directed that if the petitioner makes such an application within two weeks from the date of the order, and also furnishes all pending returns and deposits the unpaid tax along with interest and penalty, the Competent Authority shall consider the petitioner's prayer for revocation in accordance with the law within four weeks from the date of receipt of the application. The reasoning was based on the consensus between the counsels and the precedent set by the Co-ordinate Bench in a similar case.

Facts

The petitioner, Puran Singh, filed a writ petition before the Uttarakhand High Court challenging the cancellation of his GST registration. The cancellation order was passed by the Assistant Commissioner, State Goods and Service Tax, Almora. The reason for cancellation, as indicated in the show cause notice, was the petitioner's failure to furnish GST returns for the prescribed period. The facts were not in dispute between the petitioner and the respondent. Both parties agreed that the case was similar to a previous writ petition, Writ Petition (S/B) No. 39 of 2025, decided by a Co-ordinate Bench of the same High Court on 24.02.2025.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner should be permitted to make an application for revocation of the cancellation of his GST registration, considering his failure to furnish GST returns for the prescribed period. Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner argued that a similar order should be passed in his case as was done in Writ Petition (S/B) No. 39 of 2025, 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 a petitioner to apply for revocation and directed the Competent Authority to consider it. Respondent's Contention: The learned Brief Holder for the State submitted that they had no objection if the petitioner was permitted to move an appropriate application for revocation of the cancellation order.