M/S Asr Engineering And Projects Limited vs. State Of Meghalaya And 2 Ors.

Held

The Court held that it was not inclined to entertain the writ petition at this stage due to the presence of an alternate and efficacious remedy available to the petitioner under Section 30 of The Meghalaya Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The reasoning was that the Act itself provides a clear procedure for seeking revocation of cancelled registration within a stipulated period. The Court did not decide on the merits of the petitioner's claim regarding non-receipt of the show cause notice or their offer to pay arrears. The operative direction was to allow the petitioner to pursue the statutory remedy. The respondents were directed to consider the petitioner's prayer sympathetically.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s ASR Engineering and Projects Limited, was granted GST registration on January 25, 2019. Respondent No. 3 cancelled this registration on April 25, 2022, citing non-filing of GST returns. The petitioner approached the High Court challenging this order, claiming they never received the show cause notice for cancellation. They attributed this to an employee handling taxation affairs resigning without informing the company. The petitioner stated that GST returns were filed until March 2022 and offered to pay any arrears, penalties, and interest if the cancellation was revoked.

Key Issues

1. Whether the High Court should entertain a writ petition challenging the cancellation of GST registration when an alternate and efficacious remedy is available under the Meghalaya Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017? Petitioner's Argument: The petitioner argued that they never received the show cause notice for cancellation due to an employee's resignation, and they were willing to rectify any defaults by paying arrears, penalties, and interest. They sought interference with the impugned order. Revenue's Argument: The respondents, represented by the learned AAG, argued that the writ petition was liable to be dismissed. They contended that Section 30 of The Meghalaya Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, provides a specific mechanism for registered persons to apply for revocation of cancellation within 30 days of the service of the cancellation order, making it an alternate and efficacious remedy.