Monirul Islam Vs State of West Bengal & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
Application of mind should be there on the part of the Revenue Department while cancelling the GST registration
The Hon’ble Calcutta High Court in the matter of Monirul Islam v. State of West Bengal & Ors. [M.A.T. No.2051 of 2022 with I.A. No. CAN 1 of 2022 dated January 20, 2023] set aside the auto-generated order of cancellation of Goods and Service Tax (“GST”) Registration of the assessee, on the grounds that there was a mistake on the part of the Revenue Department in passing the order. Held that, there should be application of mind by the Revenue Department while passing orders, cancelling GST Registration be it physical or auto-generated. Directed the assessee to pay all his dues and directed the Revenue Department to restore the GST Registration of the assessee in accordance with law.
Facts:
Monirul Islam (“the Appellant”) was a small dealer, who due to financial constraints was unable to remit taxes.
The Appellant was served with a Show Cause Notice (“SCN”) followed by order of cancellation of its GST Registration, both dated October 24, 2021 (“the Impugned Order”) and the Appellant furnished a reply to such SCN on November 3, 2021.
However, the Revenue Department (“the Respondent”) in the Impugned Order stated that the Appellant had not submitted any reply to the SCN. Further stated that, such mistake in the Impugned Order was due to the reason that, it was system generated order.
Subsequently, the Appellant filed an appeal before the Appellate Authority, which was dismissed vide an order dated November 25, 2022, on the grounds that it was time-barred. Further, the Appellant filed a writ petition challenging the order of the Appellate Authority, which was also dismissed.
Being aggrieved, this intra-court appeal has been filed.
It was contended that, the Appellant is willing to remit the taxes along with interest for belated payment and prayed that its GST Registration be restored.
Issue:
Whether the Impugned Order is sustainable?
Held:
The Hon’ble Calcutta High Court in M.A.T. No.2051 of 2022 with I.A. No. CAN 1 of 2022 held as under:
