Nayan Jitendra Shah Vs Superintendent (Kerala High Court)
Summary: The Kerala High Court considered a challenge to rejection of a GST registration application filed by a partnership firm on the ground that a latest rent agreement had not been uploaded. The principal place of business mentioned in the application was a building originally taken on lease by the first petitioner, the managing partner of the applicant firm, along with his siblings under a lease deed dated 30.01.1989. A subsequent deed dated 06.06.1998 permitted the lessees to conduct a BATA showroom or any other showroom in the premises. The GST authority rejected the firm’s application because the lease deed produced did not establish tenancy directly in favour of the applicant partnership firm.
The GST authority contended that under Form GST REG-01, submitted under Rule 8(1), an applicant occupying rented or leased premises was required to upload a valid rent/lease agreement along with a document supporting the lessor’s ownership, such as the latest property tax receipt, municipal khata copy or electricity bill. The documents initially furnished by the firm included its partnership deed, a tax receipt in the landlord’s name and an authorisation by one of the managing partners. When queries were subsequently raised, the firm produced the 1989 lease agreement and an unsigned undertaking to produce the latest rent agreement. The authority maintained that the lease agreement did not establish tenancy in favour of the applicant firm. Similar documentary requirements for rented or leased premises are explained in TaxGuru’s coverage of proof of principal place of business for GST registration.
