The Gauhati High Court quashed a cancellation for non-filing of returns, directing the caterers to file all returns within 30 days and pay arrears, with demand limitation counted from the order.
The Gauhati High Court has set aside the cancellation of a GST registration for non-filing of returns, after the GST portal refused to accept the overdue returns as more than three years old. Justice Devashis Baruah held that the case was covered by the High Court’s earlier ruling in Motaleb Bhuyan Vs. The State Of Assam And Ors (2025) [Do Nam Enterprise & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors., 2026-juristway.com-3253-HC(Gauhati)-GST].
The petitioners, engaged in catering and event management, did not file returns under Section 39 of the CGST Act, 2017, which they did not deny. A show cause notice of 15 Jan 2023 suspended the registration from that date, and the registration was cancelled by an order dated 9 Apr 2024.
The petitioners argued that neither the notice nor the cancellation order gave any reason under Section 29, and said they learnt of the cancellation only when applying for a Government scheme. When they then tried to file the pending returns, the portal blocked them, stating that returns for January 2023 could not be filed after three years from the due date.
Finding the facts similar to those in Motaleb Bhuyan, the Court held the petitioners entitled to the same relief and quashed the cancellation order. The petitioners must file all returns from the date of default till date within 30 days of the order, and pay the arrears of tax, penalty, interest and late fee.
The Court further directed that the period under Section 73(10) and Section 74(10) of the CGST and AGST Acts is to be computed from the date of its order, except for 2026-27, which is governed by Section 44. The writ petition was disposed of with these directions.
2026-juristway.com-3253-HC(Gauhati)-GST
