Mamaine Dey Vs Union of India And 2 Ors. (Gauhati High Court)
The Gauhati High Court considered a writ petition challenging the cancellation of a GST registration on account of continuous non-filing of returns. The petitioner is a sole proprietor carrying on business under her own name and was registered under the CGST Act, 2017 and AGST Act, 2017. Due to non-filing of GST returns for a continuous period of six months, a show cause notice dated 12.03.2024 was issued to her under Section 29(2)(c) of the Act, calling upon her to submit a reply within 30 days. The notice also indicated that failure to respond or appear would result in an ex parte decision.
Subsequently, an order dated 06.05.2024 was passed by the jurisdictional Superintendent cancelling the petitioner’s GST registration. The petitioner contended that she was not conversant with the online GST procedures and, by the time she became aware of the notice, the period for filing a reply had already expired and the cancellation order had been uploaded on the portal.
The petitioner further stated that she later filed all pending GST returns up to March 2024 as permitted by the GST portal and discharged the entire tax liability along with applicable interest and late fees. However, when she attempted to apply for revocation of cancellation, the system did not allow her to do so on the ground that the prescribed timeline of 270 days from the date of cancellation had expired.
