GST Payment: No notice, no hearing! Why such a big action was taken? Details inside

The Guwahati High Court has quashed the order cancelling his GST registration. Read further on Dynamite News:

Guwahati: Giving a big relief to the operator of a wood-based factory in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh, the Guwahati High Court has quashed the order cancelling his GST registration. The court found that due process and notice were not followed before cancelling the registration. A single bench of Justice Robin Phukan gave this verdict while accepting the petition of petitioner Devendra Singh Rathore, reports Dynamite News correspondent.

No Notice, No Information

Devendra Singh Rathore, who runs the wood-based factory of Shri Thinghap Taiju, said that due to non-availability of raw material, the factory remained closed for about a year from the year 2023 to 2024. During this period, the petitioner neither received any notice to file GST return nor was any kind of information given.

Registration Cancelled Without Hearing

However, the registration was later cancelled by the GST Department on 04 December 2023, stating that a show cause notice was sent to the petitioner on 11 October 2023. But the petitioner clarified that he never received this notice through registered post, email or GST portal. Due to this, he neither got an opportunity to respond nor take any action.

The petitioner also informed that he later deposited the outstanding amount and penalty of ₹ 2,74,225 (two lakh seventy four thousand two hundred twenty five rupees), which was received on 19 March 2025 and 24 March 2025. After this, he also gave an application to the department for restoration of registration, but there was no response from the department.

Disturbed by this, the petitioner approached the High Court and sought restoration of his GST registration number.

Directions To The Administration

The court, taking cognizance of the facts and circumstances of the case, found that procedural justice was not followed and the petitioner was not given an opportunity for a fair hearing. On this basis, the court quashed the order dated 04.12.2023 cancelling the registration and directed the administration to investigate whether the petitioner has any other dues. If no amount is due, his GST registration should be restored with immediate effect.

GST In India

GST is known as the Goods and Services Tax. It is an indirect tax which has replaced many indirect taxes in India such as the excise duty, VAT, services tax, etc. The Goods and Service Tax Act was passed in the Parliament on 29th March 2017 and came into effect on 1st July 2017.