The court directed the petitioner to file returns for the period preceding the cancellation, along with tax dues, interest, and belated filing fees

In a recent ruling, the Madras High Court disposed of a writ petition concerning the cancellation of Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) registration due to non-filing of GST Returns and established specific conditions for restoring the registration. The petitioner, Mahesh Kumar Sharma Vijay Sharma challenged an order that cancelled their GST registration. This challenge arises after receiving a show cause notice, which sought justification for why the GST registration should not be cancelled. Subsequently, the cancellation order was issued based on these proceedings. R. Hemalatha, counsel for the petitioner, relied on an earlier order of the court and related matters. The respondent, represented by T.N.C. Kaushik, pointed out uncertainties in the petitioner’s affidavit regarding the filing of returns up to the date of cancellation. The basis for the cancellation was the continuous non-filing of returns for over six months. However, the court noted that in similar cases like Suguna Cutpiece v. The Appellate Deputy Commissioner (ST)(GST) and others, W.P.Nos.25048 of 2021 batch, restoration of registration was directed under certain conditions. Considering this, the bench of Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy directed the petitioner to file returns for the period preceding the cancellation, along with tax dues, interest, and belated filing fees, within 45 days from receiving the court order. The court emphasised that payments made for tax, interest, fines, or fees should not be adjusted from unutilized Input Tax Credit ( ITC ). Any unutilized ITC must undergo scrutiny and approval by the appropriate departmental officer before being utilized. The restoration of GST registration is contingent upon fulfilling these conditions. The petitioner is  also required to pay GST and file returns for the period following the cancellation of the registration, ensuring that the correct value of supplies are declared. The court directed the respondent to make necessary changes in the GST Web portal architecture to facilitate the petitioner’s filing of returns and payment of taxes and penalties. These directives are to be executed within 30 days from the receipt of the court order. As a result of these conditions, the High Court disposed of the writ petitions.