Quashed registration cancellation order and directed Department to consider the case afresh

The Calcutta High Court has quashed an order that rejected an application to revoke the cancellation of a company's GST registration. The court found the original order to be perverse and noted that relevant documents regarding the business's principal place of business were not considered. The company had temporarily operated from home due to COVID-19 circumstances. The Department has been directed to reconsider the case afresh, provide a hearing opportunity within four weeks, and consider all submitted documents.

In International Value Retail Private Limited v. Union of India and Ors. [WPA 11147 of 2020 dated September 10, 2021], the current petition has been filed by International Value Retail Private Limited ("the Petitioner") challenging the Show Cause Notice ("SCN") and final Adjudication Order of Rejection dated September 29, 2020 ("Impugned order") which rejected the application of the Petitioner for revocation of cancellation of its Goods and Services Tax ("GST") registration.

The Impugned order is being challenged on the ground that the same is perverse and also there has been non consideration of relevant documents of the Petitioner regarding the Petitioner's principal place of business and it was only due to the extraordinary circumstances of Covid-19, it was for a temporary period that the Petitioner was not carrying his business from officially registered premises but was carrying business operations from home.

The Hon'ble Calcutta High Court quashed the Impugned order by directing the Department to consider the case of the Petitioner afresh. Further, it directed the Department to dispose the Petitioner's application for revocation of cancellation of its GST Registration in accordance with law and giving the Petitioner a hearing opportunity within four weeks from the date of communication of the current order.

Also ordered the Department to consider the documents placed by the Petitioner in support of the contentions put forth during the time of fresh hearing. Observed that this Hon'ble High Court is not inclined to make any comment with regards to carrying of Petitioner's business from the new premises since it is not the subject matter of the current writ petition.