N. Suveendran Vs State Tax Officer (Kerala High Court)
The Kerala High Court dismissed an appeal challenging the continuation of a GST registration after amendments to the registration were obtained using documents found to be fraudulent. The 3rd respondent had sought amendment of his tax registration based on documents indicating that his father and brother had permitted him to use certain premises for business. The State Tax Officer found the documents fraudulent because they bore a date after the father’s death and cancelled the original registration under Section 29(2)(e) of the CGST Act, 2017.
The First Appellate Authority allowed the respondent’s appeal, finding that the State Tax Officer lacked authority to cancel the registration or amendment in the circumstances. The Single Judge subsequently cancelled the amendments but permitted the respondent to seek fresh amendments according to law, while leaving the original registration intact.
Before the Division Bench, the appellant argued that the original registration should also have been cancelled under Section 29(2)(a) read with Section 29(2)(e), since the amendments were based on fraudulent documents. The respondent opposed the appeal and stated that civil proceedings concerning the property were pending.
The High Court held that Section 29(2) provides for cancellation where fraud, willful misstatement or suppression of facts occurred when the registration was initially obtained. Here, the alleged fraud occurred at the stage of applying for an amendment to an existing registration. The Court approved the Single Judge’s approach of cancelling the amendments while retaining the original registration.
