The Hon’ble Allahabad High Court, in the case of Acambis Helpline Management (P.) Ltd. v. Union of India [Writ Tax No. 185 of 2022 dated December 15, 2022], has dealt with the issue of the cancellation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Registration of the Petitioner (Acambis Helpline Management). The Revenue Department (the Respondent) had passed an Order dated January 3, 2022 (the Impugned Order), cancelling the GST Registration of the Petitioner on the ground that the latter had failed to reply to the Show Cause Notice (SCN) issued to it.
The Hon’ble Court observed that the only reason mentioned in the Impugned Order for cancelling the GST Registration was the failure of the Petitioner to furnish a reply to the SCN. The Court held that even if the Petitioner failed to furnish a reply to the SCN, it was necessary for the Respondent to consider the facts of the case and conclude that the facts necessitated the cancellation of the GST Registration. The Court set aside the Impugned Order and directed the Petitioner to submit its reply to the SCN within 3 weeks. The Respondent was also directed to pass a fresh order in accordance with the law.
In the present case, the Petitioner is engaged in the business of manpower supply and was served with the SCN dated December 2, 2021 (the Impugned SCN), stating that the Petitioner had failed to furnish its GST return for a continuous period of six months under Section 39 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (the CGST Act) and was required to file a reply within 30 days. However, the Petitioner failed to do so.
The Petitioner had preferred an appeal against the Impugned Order, which was dismissed on the ground of limitation. Being aggrieved, the Petitioner had filed the present petition and contended that it was entitled to seek judicial review of the Impugned Order on the ground that it was a non-speaking order.
In conclusion, the Hon’ble Allahabad High Court has set aside the Impugned Order canceling the GST Registration of the Petitioner and directed the latter to submit its reply to the SCN within 3 weeks. The Revenue Department has been directed to pass a fresh order in accordance with the law, considering all the facts and circumstances of the case.
