Eves Fashion Vs Union of India & Ors. (Delhi High Court)
The petitioner filed a writ petition seeking restoration of its Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration, which had been cancelled by order dated 22 October 2021. The petitioner, engaged in manufacturing and resale of garments and related fabrics, had obtained GST registration effective from 1 July 2017. A Show Cause Notice dated 2 September 2021 was issued for non-filing of GST returns for six months under Section 39 of the CGST Act, 2017. No reply was submitted, and the GST registration was cancelled. After the cancellation, the petitioner submitted multiple representations from December 2021 onwards seeking login credentials to the GST portal, explaining that a dispute with its Chartered Accountant prevented access to the username and password. In March 2023, the department issued new credentials, but the portal allowed filing of returns only for a few months and not for all pending periods. Despite repeated visits and representations, full access to the portal was not restored.
The petitioner, appearing in person, submitted that he had fallen seriously ill during COVID and relied on medical records. He claimed that after recovering, he discovered that his Chartered Accountant had failed to file returns. A departmental communication dated 4 June 2024 informed him that revocation of cancellation could not be sought as more than three years had passed. The petitioner’s appeal seeking condonation of delay was later rejected by the Appellate Authority under Section 107 of the CGST Act for being time-barred. Consequently, he approached the High Court.
