Nit Traders And Anr Vs Union of India (Gauhati High Court)
The writ petition was filed challenging the cancellation of GST registration of the petitioners under Section 29(2)(c) of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017. The petitioners, a registered proprietorship firm, had failed to file GST returns for a continuous period of six months, leading to the issuance of a show cause notice dated 16.09.2024. The notice required a reply within 30 days and warned that failure to respond or appear for a hearing would result in an ex parte decision. Subsequently, an order dated 08.11.2024 was passed cancelling the GST registration due to non-filing of returns.
The petitioners contended that they could not respond to the show cause notice in time due to lack of familiarity with online procedures and financial losses incurred in a government project. They stated that by the time they became aware of the notice, the deadline for reply and hearing had expired and the cancellation order had already been uploaded. They approached the High Court seeking relief and expressed willingness to comply with statutory requirements, including filing pending returns and paying dues as per the proviso to Rule 22(4) of the CGST Rules, 2017.
