V K Enterprises Having Its Office At 54, Govind Nagar Race Course, Dehradun U.K. Through Its Propri vs. Commissioner Central Goods And Services Tax
Held
The Court held that the present writ petition was covered by the High Court's previous judgment dated March 2, 2023, in WPMS No. 344 of 2023. The petitioner was granted liberty to file an application for revocation of the cancellation order under Section 30 of the Central GST Act within two weeks. Along with the revocation application, the petitioner was required to furnish all pending GST returns and deposit outstanding GST dues. The Court directed the competent authority to consider the petitioner's application, examine the question of limitation, and pass an appropriate order as per law within four weeks of the application's submission. The ratio decidendi is that genuine lapses, if explained and rectified promptly with compliance, can lead to the revocation of registration cancellation.
Facts
The petitioner, a civil contractor registered under the CGST Act, had their GST registration cancelled by an order dated January 18, 2022. The sole reason for cancellation was the non-submission of GST returns for six consecutive months. The petitioner attributed this lapse to their hired GST consultant. The petitioner's counsel submitted that a similar issue was decided by the High Court in a previous judgment dated March 2, 2023, in WPMS No. 344 of 2023. This submission was not disputed by the respondents' counsel. Consequently, the present writ petition was decided in terms of the prior order.
Key Issues
1. Whether the cancellation of GST registration for non-filing of returns for six consecutive months, when attributed to a consultant's lapse, warrants revocation under Section 30 of the Central GST Act, 2017? Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that the cancellation was due to a lapse on the part of their GST consultant and that a previous judgment of the High Court in WPMS No. 344 of 2023, dated March 2, 2023, covered identical circumstances. They relied on the principle that genuine errors or lapses, especially when rectified promptly, should not lead to irreversible consequences like registration cancellation. Respondents' contention: The respondents did not dispute the petitioner's submission regarding the applicability of the previous judgment. Therefore, no specific arguments were recorded for the respondents on the merits of the cancellation or the grounds for revocation.
Sections Cited
Section 30
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SL. No Date Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar’s order with Signatures COURT’S OR JUDGES’S ORDERS
WPMS 822/2023 Hon’ble Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J. Mr. Ankur Sharma, Advocate, for the petitioner.
Mr. Shobhit Saharia, Advocate, for the respondents no. 1 and 2. Mr. T.S. Phartiyal, Additional CSC, for the respondent no.
Petitioner is a civil contractor, registered under the Central Goods and Services Act, 2017 (CGST Act). His registration has been cancelled by order dated 18.1.2022. The sole ground for cancelling petitioner’s GST registration is non-submission of GST returns for six consecutive months. The explanation offered by the petitioner is due to lapse on the part of the GST consultant hired by the petitioner, return could not be filed. Learned counsel for petitioner submits that identical controversy has been decided by this Court vide judgment dated 2.3.2023 passed in WPMS No. 344 of 2023. This submission is not disputed by Mr. Shobhit Saharia, learned Counsel appearing for the respondents. In view of consensus between the parties that matter is covered by the judgment dated
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