Saroj Kumar Mahanandia vs. Superintendent CGST And Central Excise, Rayagada

Held

The Court held that the Petitioner's delay in seeking revocation of their cancelled GST registration is condoned, subject to the Petitioner fulfilling their undertaking. The Court noted the Petitioner's willingness to pay all taxes, interest, late fees, penalties, and other sums due. The Revenue conceded that upon the Petitioner's compliance with this undertaking, the concerned authority would consider the application for revocation. The Court directed the Petitioner to make the payments within two weeks. Consequently, the Opposite Party (Revenue) is directed to consider the Petitioner's application for revocation of the cancellation of their registration certificate within six weeks from the date of the order. The writ petition was disposed of in view of this conceded position and the operative directions.

Facts

The Petitioner, Saroj Kumar Mahanandia, challenged a show cause notice dated 16.06.2025 and an order dated 02.09.2025 passed by the Superintendent, CGST & Central Excise, Rayagada-II Range, Rayagada, which cancelled the Petitioner's GST registration. The Petitioner expressed willingness to pay all outstanding taxes, interest, late fees, penalties, and any other sums due, along with the return. The Petitioner relied on a coordinate bench's order in W.P.(C) No.30374 of 2022 (M/s. Mohanty Enterprises Vrs. The Commissioner, C.T & G.S.T, Odisha, Cuttack and Ors.) for condonation of delay and consideration of their application for revocation of cancellation. The Opposite Party (Revenue) conceded that if the Petitioner complied with the undertaking, the authority would take necessary action.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Petitioner's delay in invoking the proviso to Rule 23 of the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Rules (OGST Rules) for revocation of cancelled registration should be condoned, considering the Petitioner's undertaking to pay all dues. The Petitioner argued that their case is covered by the precedent set in M/s. Mohanty Enterprises Vrs. The Commissioner, C.T & G.S.T, Odisha, Cuttack and Ors., where a similar delay was condoned subject to payment of dues. The Revenue did not contest this point, conceding that the authority would act if the Petitioner complied with the undertaking. 2. Whether the Petitioner's GST registration, once cancelled, can be revoked upon payment of all outstanding liabilities and compliance with formalities. The Petitioner contended that revocation is permissible under the law upon fulfilling these conditions, as demonstrated by the cited precedent. The Revenue agreed to consider the application for revocation if the Petitioner made the payments as undertaken.