Santu Das Vs Deputy Commissioner of State Tax (Calcutta High Court)
The Calcutta High Court addressed the cancellation of GST registration for Santu Das under the WBGST Act due to non-filing of returns over a six-month period. The petitioner had been served a show cause notice but did not respond, leading to the cancellation of the registration. The petitioner argued that they intended to comply with the Act’s provisions but had not communicated this due to the lack of a response to the show cause notice. Relying on a similar case precedent, the court decided to overturn the cancellation order. It emphasized that the cancellation was not due to any fraudulent activities but due to non-compliance in filing returns. The court mandated the restoration of registration provided the petitioner files all overdue returns, pays the required tax, interest, and penalties within four weeks. The respondents were directed to reactivate the petitioner’s portal to facilitate compliance. If the petitioner fails to meet these conditions, the petition would stand dismissed. The court set aside the previous cancellation and appellate authority orders, focusing on a pragmatic approach to ensure the petitioner could continue business operations and tax recovery.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF CALCUTTA HIGH COURT
