Pratik Surendrakumar Shah Vs State of Gujarat & Anr (Gujarat High Court)
Gujarat High Court has set aside demand notices and orders issued under Section 73 of the Central/State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (GST Act) against M/s. Zeb IT Service Limited, a company that had undergone voluntary liquidation and was subsequently dissolved. The court ruled that proceedings could not be initiated against an entity that no longer exists in the eyes of the law.
The case, Pratik Surendrakumar Shah Vs State of Gujarat & Anr, involved a petitioner who was a former director of M/s. Zeb IT Service Limited. The company, engaged in virtual currency trading, initiated voluntary liquidation proceedings and formally intimated the GST authorities of its decision to wind up its business on October 1, 2020. The liquidator further informed the authorities on October 27, 2020, to submit any claims. Subsequently, the company’s GST registration was cancelled on February 9, 2021, with effect from November 13, 2020, due to business closure.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Ahmedabad, officially ordered the dissolution of M/s. Zeb IT Service Limited on September 30, 2022. Intimation of this dissolution was also provided to the Registrar of Companies.
Despite these developments, Respondent No. 2 (the GST authority) issued notices under Section 73 of the GST Act for the financial years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, along with an intimation regarding a show cause notice, all addressed to the dissolved company. These communications were received by the petitioner, the former director.
