The Gauhati High Court has directed the Goods and Services Tax authorities to restore the GST registration of a proprietor whose registration was cancelled for failure to furnish returns for six consecutive months. The relief was made conditional upon the taxpayer paying all statutory dues, penalties and fines communicated by the department within 21 days.
The bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi directed the Superintendent of Central Goods and Services Tax, Itanagar Range, to first intimate the taxpayer about the total amount outstanding up to the date of cancellation, along with any penalty or fine payable as of the date on which the registration is to be restored.
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The Court ordered that once the taxpayer pays the entire amount within the stipulated period and submits proof of payment, the Superintendent must pass an appropriate order revoking the cancellation and restoring the GST registration.
The petitioner/assessee carries on business as a proprietor under the trade name M/s Kanang Enterprises. The firm, having its principal place of business was registered under the GST law with effect from February 1, 2024.
According to the petitioner, financial difficulties prevented him from continuing his business activities, resulting in his failure to file GST returns.
A system-generated show-cause notice was issued through the GST portal on September 8, 2025, alleging non-furnishing of returns for a continuous period of six months. The notice called upon the petitioner to submit a reply within 30 days and directed him to appear before the jurisdictional officer on October 16, 2025. His GST registration was simultaneously suspended with immediate effect.
The petitioner contended that his GST returns had previously been handled by GST practitioners or chartered accountants. Consequently, he did not regularly access either the GST portal or his registered email account and remained unaware of the show-cause notice.
Because of this, the petitioner neither submitted a reply to the notice nor took steps to file the outstanding returns. The Superintendent subsequently passed an order dated October 12, 2025, cancelling the GST registration on the ground of non-filing of returns.
Appearing for the petitioner, counsel submitted that the statutory period available for seeking revocation of the cancellation had already expired. It was further argued that the restriction on filing GST returns after three years from the relevant due date had left the petitioner unable to furnish the pending returns and discharge the corresponding tax liabilities through the GST portal.
The petitioner relied on orders passed by the High Court in comparable cases, including its earlier decision in Rakhe Achi v. Union of India & Others. In those cases, the Court had granted conditional relief by directing restoration of GST registrations upon payment of the entire outstanding liability.
The counsel appearing for the Union government and the CGST authorities acknowledged that the issue involved in the petition was similar to those considered in earlier matters. They informed the Court that they had no objection to the issuance of a similar direction.
After considering the submissions and examining the order passed in Rakhe Achi, the High Court held that the petitioner was entitled to similar relief.
The Court accordingly directed the Superintendent to communicate the complete statutory liability standing against M/s Kanang Enterprises up to the date of cancellation. The calculation must also include any penalty or fine found payable as of the date of restoration.
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