Rishi Bawa Vs Assistant Commissioner GST (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court, in the case of Rishi Bawa Vs Assistant Commissioner GST, has mandated the restoration of a petitioner’s GST Registration that was retrospectively cancelled for non-filing of returns. The court leveraged its extraordinary constitutional powers, determining that the petitioner’s inability to file returns was primarily a consequence of being denied access to the official GST portal following the initial suspension of the registration.
Background and Administrative Actions
The petitioner filed a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to challenge the retrospective cancellation of their GST Registration, effective from November 8, 2022. The cancellation was based on the non-filing of returns.
The procedural timeline began with the issuance of a Show Cause Notice (SCN) on November 8, 2022. The petitioner claimed that after receiving the SCN, they filed the outstanding returns and deposited the applicable fines. Despite this, the concerned authority issued the cancellation order on April 3, 2023, without taking the subsequent compliance into account.
Following the cancellation, the petitioner’s application for the revocation of the registration was dismissed by the GST authorities on September 15, 2023.
Appellate and Judicial Disputes
The petitioner subsequently filed an appeal against the rejection of the revocation application. However, the Appellate Authority dismissed this appeal solely on the ground of limitation.
