Panchatantra Tours And Travels Vs Union of India (Gauhati High Court)
Summary: In Panchatantra Tours And Travels Vs Union of India, the petitioner, a sole proprietor registered under the CGST/AGST Acts, faced cancellation of GST registration due to non-filing of returns for a continuous period of six months. A show cause notice was issued granting 30 days to respond and appear for a personal hearing, with a warning that failure would result in an ex-parte decision. Subsequently, an order dated 15.04.2024 cancelled the registration without assigning reasons.
The petitioner contended that financial hardship prevented filing returns and responding to the notice within time. Upon later accessing the portal, the petitioner found that the time for reply had lapsed and the cancellation order had already been passed. It was further submitted that all pending returns up to April 2024 had since been filed, and tax dues along with interest and late fees had been paid. However, the petitioner was unable to apply for revocation of cancellation due to expiry of the prescribed 270-day time limit, prompting the filing of the writ petition.
The Court noted that under Section 29(2)(c) of the CGST Act, registration may be cancelled for failure to file returns for six consecutive months, and Rule 22 of the CGST Rules prescribes the procedure. It highlighted the proviso to Rule 22(4), which allows proceedings to be dropped if the taxpayer furnishes all pending returns and clears dues with applicable interest and late fees.
