Kamal Kindra Vs Commissioner of State Tax
Date: July 6, 2025
Subject Matter
Post GST registration cancellation, show cause notice for non-filing of returns is "completely untenable"
Summary
The petitioner, Kamal Kindra, operating under the name Shree Durga Automobiles, has challenged the cancellation of his GST registration by the Sales Tax Officer (AVATO) dated August 4, 2021. The petitioner's business operations were closed in April 2019, and he had applied for GST registration cancellation on May 8, 2019.
Subsequently, the provisional registration was cancelled by an order dated June 9, 2020, and a show cause notice for non-filing of returns was issued on July 22, 2021. Following this, the GST registration was cancelled with retrospective effect from July 1, 2017. An appeal filed by the petitioner against this was dismissed on March 27, 2024, on the grounds of being time-barred.
The petitioner argued that the cancellation order dated June 9, 2020, was not served at the address or email provided in his original application, so he was unaware of it. The court noted that since the provisional registration was already canceled on June 9, 2020, the subsequent show cause notice dated July 22, 2021, for non-filing of returns was "completely untenable" as the petitioner could not have filed returns after the cancellation.
Ruling:
The court set aside the impugned order dated August 4, 2021, and directed that the petitioner's GST registration stand canceled from the date of his application, which was May 8, 2019. The petition and pending applications were disposed of on these term
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF DELHI HIGH COURT
1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.
CM APPL. 39189/2025
2. Allowed, subject to all just exceptions. The application is disposed of.
W. P.(C) 9237/2025 & CM APPL. 39190/2025
3. The present petition has been filed on behalf of the Petitioner-Kamal Kindra under Article 226 of the Constitution of India inter alia assailing the order dated 4th August, 2021 passed by the Sales Tax Officer Class II/AVATO, vide which, the GST registration of the Petitioner was cancelled w.e.f. 1st July, 2017.
4. It is stated that the Petitioner was undertaking business through its sole proprietorship concern under the name, Shree Durga Automobiles, which was registered under the CGST Act, 2017 and the DGST Act, 2017. However, in April, 2019 the business operations of the Petitioner was closed and it applied for cancellation of GST registration on 8th May, 2019. On 20th May, 2020 the Respondent No. 3 issued a notice for additional information. Thereafter, the order dated 9th June, 2020 was passed by the Respondent No. 3, vide which, the provisional registration of the Petitioner was cancelled.
5. However, on 22nd July, 2021, a Show Cause Notice was issued by the Respondent No. 3 due to non-filing of GST returns for a period of six months. Subsequently, on 4th August, 2021 the Respondent No. 3 cancelled the Petitioner’s GST registration w.e.f. 1st July, 2017.
6. The Petitioner, being aggrieved by the same, filed an appeal before the Appellate Authority which was dismissed on 27th March, 2024 on the ground of being barred by limitation.
7. It is the case of the Petitioner that in the application dated 8th May, 2019, the Petitioner depicted the address for future correspondence and also provided the concerned email address. However, the order for cancellation of provisional registration dated 9th June, 2020 was not served on the address provided and hence the Petitioner did not come to know of the said order.
8. Considering the fact that the Petitioner’s provisional registration was cancelled on 9th June, 2020, the Show Cause Notice dated 22nd July, 2021 was itself completely untenable as the Petitioner could not have filed GST returns after the cancellation.
9. Under these circumstances, the impugned order dated 9th June, 2020 is set aside. The GST registration of the Petitioner shall stand cancelled w.e.f. from the date of application i.e., 8th May, 2019.
10. The petition is disposed of in the aforesaid terms. Pending application is also disposed of.