The Delhi High Court imposed a cost of Rs. 25000 on the Revenue Department, while holding that the GST registration of the parent company of the audio and wearable brand ‘boAt’ was cancelled mechanically and without due application of mind, that too, without giving even basic reasoning or allowing personal hearing.
Finding that the impugned orders passed by the GST Adjudicating Authority and Appellate Authority lack basic reasoning and fairness, and were mechanical, templated, and computer-generated without proper application of mind, the Division Bench comprising Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Shail Jain quashed the cancellation of GST registration as well as the rejection of revocation.
The Bench also restored the GST registration of the petitioner and directed for fresh adjudication of the show cause notices, considering the replies and documents already filed. The Bench also ordered for communication of notices via both e-mail and mobile, and compliance with personal hearing.
Briefly, the petitioner, a parent company of the audio and wearable brand ‘boAt’, had valid lease agreements for its premises and had filed all returns as required under Section 39 of the CGST Act. Later, an SCN was issued for the cancellation of registration, citing vague reasons such as ‘Others’ and ‘Non-Existent’. Even though the petitioner filed detailed replies and submitted all requisite documents, including lease agreements and returns, the registration was cancelled through a mechanical and non-speaking order, and the subsequent application for revocation of cancellation was rejected by the Adjudicating Authority.
Appearances:
Advocates Ashwini Chandrasekaran, Priyanka Rathi, and Priyanshi Chakraborty, for the Petitioner/ Taxpayer
Senior Advocate Anushree Narain, for the Respondent/ Revenue
