Sheikh Mohammad Yousuf Vs Union Territory of J&K and Ors. (Jammu & Kashmir And Ladakh High Court)
In the matter of Sheikh Mohammad Yousuf vs Union Territory of J&K and Ors., the petitioner challenged two separate orders issued by the Sales Tax Officer, Anantnag, which cancelled his GST registration retrospectively. The first cancellation followed a show cause notice dated 19th March 2020, with the cancellation effective from 1st January 2020. The petitioner appealed this decision under Section 107(1) of the GST Act; however, the appeal was dismissed on 15th May 2024 as time-barred. The second cancellation, related to a different show cause notice dated 21st December 2020, took effect from 13th January 2021. In this instance, the petitioner directly approached the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution, bypassing the appellate authority.
The High Court noted that similar matters had been adjudicated previously, where the respondents had consented to restoring GST registrations if the petitioners complied with legal requirements, including filing returns and paying due taxes, penalties, and interest. Citing earlier decisions from April 2024 (WP(C) 873/2024 and WP(C) 182/2024), the Court observed that this case was substantially similar. Consequently, the Court disposed of the writ petitions by directing the petitioner to approach the competent authority within seven days for restoration of the cancelled GST registration. This restoration is conditional upon fulfilling all formalities, including payment of dues and filing of pending returns within the stipulated period. If the petitioner fails to comply, the relief granted would cease to operate.
