Birchand Vs Commissioner of DGST (Delhi High Court)
In the case of Birchand vs. Commissioner of DGST, the Delhi High Court addressed the issue of the petitioner’s GST registration cancellation. The petitioner’s registration was canceled with retrospective effect from July 15, 2017, based on a Show Cause Notice (SCN) issued due to discrepancies in tax returns. However, the SCN failed to specify a hearing date or time, effectively denying the petitioner a fair opportunity to present their case. Additionally, the cancellation order did not provide any reason for the retrospective cancellation. The petitioner argued that the notice was neither received physically nor viewed on the GST portal, partly due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The petitioner’s appeal against the cancellation was initially dismissed due to a delay in filing, but the Supreme Court had earlier extended limitations in such cases due to the pandemic. Given these circumstances, the High Court set aside the cancellation and remanded the matter to the Appellate Authority for a fresh hearing, instructing the authority to decide the appeal on its merits without considering the delay in filing. The court emphasized the need for a fair process, especially when adverse actions like retrospective cancellation are involved.
