Pooja Construction Company Vs Union of India (Rajasthan High Court)
Summary: The Rajasthan High Court considered a writ petition filed by Pooja Construction Company seeking restoration of its GST registration and setting aside of the Order-in-Original dated 14.03.2024 and Order-in-Appeal dated 26.05.2025. The petitioner submitted that its GST returns could not be filed because the firm depended upon its accountant for statutory compliances and the accountant failed to communicate the relevant information. It also stated that it was unaware of the show cause notice and the cancellation order and, after learning of the cancellation, filed an appeal which was dismissed solely on limitation. The petitioner relied on earlier Division Bench decisions directing consideration of delayed GST appeals on merits.
The respondents opposed the petition on the ground that the appeal was barred by limitation. The Court noted that cancellation of the GST registration with effect from 14.03.2024 had brought the petitioner’s business operations to a standstill and observed that the reasons given for non-compliance appeared genuine. Following the approach adopted in the earlier Coordinate Bench decisions, the Court allowed the writ petition and set aside the appellate order dated 26.05.2025. The appellate authority was directed to consider and decide the petitioner’s appeal on merits in accordance with law, subject to deposit of applicable late fees, penalty and other statutory amounts. The Court did not itself decide the merits of the GST registration cancellation.
