Bhatt And Thapliyal Engineering vs. Commissioner, SGST

Held

The Court held that the present writ petition was similar to Writ Petition (M/B) No. 39 of 2025 and Writ Petition (M/B) No. 79 of 2025, which were disposed of on similar terms. Following the precedent set in those cases, the Court permitted the petitioner to move an application for revocation of the cancellation order. The petitioner was directed to file such an application within two weeks from the date of the order. Additionally, the petitioner was required to furnish all pending returns and deposit the unpaid tax along with applicable interest and penalty. The Competent Authority was then directed to consider the petitioner's prayer for revocation in accordance with the law within four weeks from the date of receipt of the application. The ratio decidendi is that in cases of GST registration cancellation due to non-filing of returns, the taxpayer should be given an opportunity to rectify the default and seek revocation, provided they comply with the stipulated conditions.

Facts

The petitioner, Bhatt & Thapliyal Engineering, is a taxable person registered under the GST Act, 2017. Their GST registration was cancelled by the Assistant Commissioner, Haridwar-Sector 3, via an order dated 12.03.2024. The cancellation was based on the petitioner's failure to furnish GST returns for the prescribed period, as indicated in the show cause notice dated 23.02.2024. The petitioner filed a writ petition challenging this cancellation order. The present writ petition is stated to be similar to two previous writ petitions, Writ Petition (M/B) No. 39 of 2025 and Writ Petition (M/B) No. 79 of 2025, which were disposed of by the High Court on similar grounds.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner should be permitted to apply for revocation of the GST registration cancellation order, and if so, what directions should be issued to the Competent Authority? The petitioner argued that a similar issue was dealt with by a Co-ordinate Bench of the Court in Writ Petition (M/B) No. 39 of 2025 and sought a similar order. They relied on a judgment in Writ Petition (M/S) No. 3283 of 2024, where the petitioner was allowed to apply for revocation, and the Competent Authority was directed to consider the application. The respondents (Commissioner, State Goods and Services Tax Commissionerate and another) submitted that they had no objection if the petitioner was permitted to move an appropriate application for revocation of the cancellation order. They did not present any counter-arguments against the petitioner's request.