ED & F Man Commodities India Pvt. Ltd. Vs Assistant Commissioner (Calcutta High Court)
Calcutta High Court held that the cancellation of GST registration and rejection of revocation applications justified since premises were found to be non-existent. Accordingly, writ petition dismissed.
Facts- The petitioner became a registered dealer under the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, effective from July 1, 2017 and carried out business activities during F.Y. 2017-18, procuring 11,876 MT of sugar and selling the entire stock by March 2018. However, due to significant financial losses in F.Y. 2018-19, the petitioner ceased business operations in the State of West Bengal. Despite the absence of transactions, the petitioner diligently filed nil returns under the GST Act up to November 2021 and annual returns up to F.Y. 2019-20.
On November 15, 2021, respondent no. 1 issued a show-cause notice alleging that the petitioner had fraudulently obtained registration through suppression of facts or wilful misstatement, without presenting any evidence to substantiate the claims. The petitioner responded to the notice and sought additional time for compliance, citing challenges posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, respondent no. 1 mechanically cancelled the petitioner’s GST registration with retrospective effect from July 1, 2017.
