GST Update
Desk of CA. Praveen Sharma – 890 Series (CAPS)
Delhi High Court in the case of Ruby Bansal
The petitioner’s GST registration was cancelled in March 2022 for non-filing of returns for six months during the COVID period, as no reply was filed to the show cause notice.
The cancellation was made retrospective from 1 July 2017, which caused serious issues as the petitioner’s customers started receiving notices for reversal of ITC.
An appeal was filed in December 2023, but it was rejected only on the ground of delay, without considering the merits of the case.
The petitioner argued that retrospective cancellation has wide consequences, especially for buyers, and these aspects were never examined at the time of issuing the notice.
The department contended that the appellate authority had no power to condone delay and therefore the rejection was valid.
The Court observed that although appellate authorities cannot condone delay, the High Court can grant relief in writ jurisdiction where facts justify intervention.
The Court accepted that COVID disruptions and lack of knowledge about the notice were reasonable explanations and that the delay was not deliberate.
The High Court set aside the rejection order and allowed the petitioner to pursue the appeal, directing that it be heard on merits with a proper opportunity of hearing.
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