Chandan Kumar Giri Vs State of West Bengal & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
Summary: The Calcutta High Court disposed of a writ petition challenging the GST department’s freezing/blocking of the GST common portal, which prevented the petitioner, a registered taxable person trading in coal under the name Goswami Enterprise, from furnishing Form GSTR-I under Section 37 of the CGST/WBGST Act, 2017. A show cause notice dated 08.07.2026 had proposed cancellation of registration on allegations under Rule 21(a) and Rule 21(b), namely that business was not conducted from the declared place and invoices or bills were issued without supply.
The petitioner replied on 09.07.2026, but the reply remained pending, and subsequently a notice under Rule 56(18) of the WBGST Rules, 2017 was issued on 31.07.2026. The petitioner contended that portal freezing was hampering business and causing financial hardship and expressed willingness to cooperate, furnish relevant information and reverse any legally inadmissible ITC if discrepancies were found after verification. The GST department opposed the petition, stating that a field inspection had been conducted under Section 71 of the WBGST Act, 2017 and discrepancies were found, including the absence of a coal stock point/godown at the registered address.
The Court observed that the petitioner had already been afforded an opportunity to rebut the allegations and that relevant documents required consideration before reaching a conclusive finding. It directed the petitioner to submit a comprehensive representation in response to the Rule 56(18) notice within two weeks. The Deputy Commissioner, State Tax was directed to decide it by a reasoned and speaking order within four weeks after providing a personal hearing. The officer was required to decide independently. Importantly, if the petitioner was found entitled and a bona fide registered proprietor on the basis of the documents produced, the GST portal was to be activated within 48 hours to enable furnishing of Form GSTR 1. The writ petition was disposed of without going into the merits.
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