Cancelled Registration Restored Despite Expiry of 270-Day Revocation Window: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court revoked a cancellation for non-filing of returns, accepting financial difficulty as genuine, but barred use of existing ITC for arrears until officers verify and approve it.

The Madras High Court has revoked the cancellation of a company’s GST registration after the GST portal refused its revocation application as beyond 270 days, subject to filing all returns and paying tax, interest and late fee without using input tax credit (ITC). Justice Krishnan Ramasamy found genuine the petitioner’s reason for not filing returns within the time prescribed under Section 39 of the CGST Act [Asian Beverage Private Limited v. Assistant Commissioner (ST), Ayanavaram Assessment Circle, Chennai & Ors., 2026-juristway.com-3214-HC(Madras)-GST].

The petitioner stopped filing returns from July 2025 owing to financial difficulty. Its registration was suspended through a show cause notice (SCN) in FORM GST REG‑31 dated 4 Dec 2025 and cancelled by an order in FORM GST REG‑19 dated 8 Jan 2026, with effect from 1 Jul 2025. When it applied on 5 Oct 2026 for extension and revocation, the portal showed that the 270-day window from the cancellation order had expired.

The petitioner relied on Tvl.Suguna Cutpiece Centre Vs. The Appellate Deputy Commissioner (ST) (GST), Salem (2022) and an order of 13 Aug 2024 in W.P. No. 22271 of 2024, and offered to pay all dues. The Government Advocate said no reply had been filed to the SCN and returns had not been filed from July 2025 till 17 Dec 2025.

The Court revoked the cancellation order of 8 Jan 2026. The respondents must instruct GSTN to enable the petitioner to file returns and pay dues within four weeks of receiving the order, and the petitioner must file returns with tax, interest and late fee within four weeks of restoration.

These payments cannot be made or adjusted from unutilised ITC, and any existing ITC may be used for future liability only after scrutiny and approval by a competent officer. If any condition is not met, the benefit will automatically cease.

2026-juristway.com-3214-HC(Madras)-GST