The Gauhati High Court has held that where a taxpayer’s GST registration has been cancelled due to failure to file the GST returns, the proper officer may restore the registration under the proviso to Rule 22(4) of the CGST Rules, 2017 once all pending returns and dues are cleared.
The case stemmed from the cancellation of the petitioner’s GST registration after it failed to file returns for six months and did not respond to a show-cause notice, resulting in an ex parte cancellation order. The petitioner later filed all pending returns and cleared the outstanding dues, but was unable to seek revocation of cancellation because the statutory 270-day window for filing a revocation application had already expired. The petitioner filed an appeal but the same was dismissed as barred by the limitation. Being aggrieved by the order, the Petitioner approached the High Court.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi has held that the proviso to Rule 22(4) of the CGST Rules empowers the proper officer to drop cancellation proceedings and restore GST registration once a taxpayer file all pending returns and clears the applicable tax, interest, and late fees. Emphasising that cancellation of registration carries serious civil consequences, the Court observed that the statutory framework itself authorises restoration where compliance is achieved.
The Court therefore directed the petitioner to approach the competent authority within two months, and directed the authority to consider the request for restoration strictly in terms of the proviso to Rule 22(4) and pass necessary orders within 60 days of receiving the High Court’s order.
Appearances:
For the Petitioner – Ms. B. Sarma
For the Respondents – Shri K. Jain for Senior Standing Counsel, CGST
