Bangalore Sales Corporation Vs Commissioner of DGST & Ors. (Delhi High Court)
The petitioner made application for voluntary cancellation of GST registration in March 2022. However, Authorities issued a clarification notice more than two years later, well beyond the 30-day timeline prescribed under Rule 21A(2A) of the CGST Rules. After rejecting the cancellation application, a Show Cause Notice (SCN) was issued for cancellation of registration in August 2024, citing non-filing of returns for six months. Thereafter, the GST registration was cancelled retrospectively from 1st July 2017, even as the petitioner’s appeal against rejection was pending.
Considering the facts of the case, the Court observed that
- Clarification was time-barred, being sought far beyond the permissible period.
- The SCN was fundamentally flawed, as the petitioner was not required to file returns post-application for cancellation.
- No justification was provided for invoking such a drastic retrospective cancellation.
Pursuant to above observations, the Court ordered that the cancellation must take effect from the date of application (28.03.2022), not retrospectively.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF DELHI HIGH COURT
1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.
2. The present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been filed seeking quashing of the impugned order dated 04th March, 2025 by which the GST registration of the Petitioner has been cancelled with retrospective effect from 1st July, 2017.
