The Delhi High Court has intervened in a case involving the retrospective cancellation of GST registration for a partnership firm. The court directed the Commissioner of Central Goods and Services Tax ( CGST ), East Delhi, to provide the necessary documents to the petitioner, enabling him to pursue an appellate remedy.
The case revolves around M/s. Jai Ambay Pharmacy, a partnership firm that was registered under GST with the Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN) 07AANFJ2255K1Z2.
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The petitioner, Nishant Tandon, who is a constituent partner of the firm M/s. Jai Ambay Pharmacy approached the court after facing challenges in accessing vital documents from the GST portal following the firm’s dissolution and subsequent GST registration cancellation.
The petitioner’s GST registration was cancelled by the CGST authorities with retrospective effect from August 16, 2017. This cancellation was based on the dissolution of the partnership and a Show Cause Notice (SCN) issued on June 14, 2021. The SCN called upon the petitioner’s firm to justify why its GST registration should not be cancelled due to the change in the firm’s constitution and the dissolution of the partnership deed. However, the cancellation order was passed on March 15, 2022, after the firm allegedly failed to respond to the SCN.
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The petitioner, Nishant Tandon, represented by represented by Mr N K Bhatnagar and Ms Pratishtha contended that the GST portal had been locked, making it impossible for him to access crucial documents, including GST returns and other notices related to the case.
The petitioner requested for re-activation of their GST User ID to access essential documents required for an appellate remedy as they had no access to the necessary documents after their GST registration was cancelled retrospectively.
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It was also argued that these documents were essential for him to pursue an appeal against the cancellation order and subsequent demand of Rs.67,328 under Section 73 of the CGST Act, 2017.
The petitioner further argued that the cancellation of the firm’s GST registration was not initiated by any action of the proper officer but was a result of the partners’ application for cancellation.
The petitioner also expressed concerns about a possible technical glitch in the cancellation order, as it mentioned a reply dated December 3, 2021, which he claims was never submitted by the firm.
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The respondent revenue, Commissioner of CGST, East Delhi, represented by Mr. Rajeer Aggarwal and Mr. Shubham Goel did not object to the petitioner’s request for copies of the requisite documents. The respondent agreed that if the petitioner applied for these documents, they would be provided. The revenue’s stance focused on compliance with the petitioner’s request to facilitate the appeal process.
The Delhi High Court, taking this into account, allowed the petitioner’s alternate relief, directing the CGST authorities to provide physical or soft copies of the necessary documents within one week.
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The division bench comprising Mr. Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Mr. Justice Sachin Datta emphasised the importance of ensuring that the petitioner has access to all relevant documents to effectively pursue his appeal. The court also ruled that if the petitioner files an appeal within four weeks, it should be considered without being prejudiced by any delay.
This ruling highlighted that procedural hurdles should not obstruct access to justice and should not restrict from pursuing the remedy of appeal, despite the retrospective cancellation of the firm’s GST registration.
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