The Andhra Pradesh High Court has held that the GST registration cannot be denied to person of another state.
The bench of Justice R Raghunandan Rao and Justice Harinath.N has observed that mere apprehension of tax evasion, however well founded, cannot deprive the petitioner of his right to carry on trade and business in the State of Andhra Pradesh.
The bench stated that Article 19 of the Constitution of India, grants every citizen of this Country, the right to set up and do business anywhere in the country.The order of rejection is clearly without any basis in law.
The petitioner/assessee has sought registration under A.P. Goods and Services Tax Act, 2005 for its place of business situated in Rajamahendravaram. The application was rejected by the Assistant Commissioner.
The ground for rejection was that the applicant does not belong to Andhra Pradesh and the authorized representative, put forward by the petitioner, does not belong to the State of Andhra Pradesh.
The department contended that the registration was refused on the ground that there would be any amount of scope for tax evasion, as none of the responsible persons are from the State of Andhra Pradesh.
The court has held that though the apprehension of the respondents may not be misplaced, it would not mean that registration can be refused on a ground, which is not available under the Statute or the Rules. There does not appear to be any restriction for persons outside the State to come into the State of Andhra Pradesh and seek registration under the APGST Act.
The court allowed the writ petition and quashed the order of rejection. The respondents are directed to register the petitioner under the APGST Act. However, it would be open to the respondents to take such steps, as they deem fit, to monitor the returns of the petitioner and to verify the business activities of the petitioner, for ensuring that there will be no tax evasion. There shall be no order as to costs.
Case Details
Case Title: Tirumala Balaji Marbles And Granites Versus The Assistant Commissioner St and Others
Case No.: Writ Petition No: 1200/2025
Date: 05/02/2025
Counsel For Petitioner: Anil Kumar Bezawada
Counsel For Respondent: GP
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