S R Enterprise Vs Union of India nd 2 Ors (Gauhati High Court)
The petitioner challenged the order dated 05.02.2026 cancelling its GST registration, contending that no fresh show cause notice had been issued before the cancellation. The cancellation order relied upon a show cause notice dated 13.08.2024, which had been issued alleging non-filing of returns under Section 39 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
The petitioner, a partnership firm holding GST registration, submitted that although Section 29 of the CGST Act empowers the Proper Officer to cancel registration, the proviso to Section 29(2) requires that the registered person be given an opportunity of being heard. It was argued that even if the notice dated 13.08.2024 was validly issued, no action had been taken on it for more than 18 months, and the subsequent cancellation on 05.02.2026 could not be treated as action pursuant to that notice.
The Gauhati High Court examined the record and found that the show cause notice had indeed been issued on 13.08.2024, but the Proper Officer took no further steps until the registration was cancelled on 05.02.2026. During this intervening period, two financial years had elapsed and various events requiring filing of GST returns had occurred. The Court observed that these intervening circumstances had not been considered by the Proper Officer.
