GST REGISTRATION OF LIQUIDATOR UNDER IBC

In SHRI NIRAV TARKAS LIQUIDATOR OF M/S STRATUS FOODS PRIVATE LIMITED VERSUS OFFICE OF THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER [2022 (3) TMI 869 - GUJARAT HIGH COURT];  the petitioner was appointed as Resolution Professional by NCLT but in absence of any resolution plan, the petition was further appointed as Liquidator of the company. He applied for registration under GST law but it got rejected for (a) want of necessary documents (b) belated filing, and (c) not applying in terms of Notification No. 11/2020-CT dated 21.03.2020 as amended by Notification No. 39/2020-CT dated 05.05.2020. It was also contended by liquidator petitioner that the said Notification applied to Resolution Professionals and not to Liquidator.

The court observed that petitioner as an Official Liquidator has fulfilled all the demands of furnishing the necessary documents and testimonials and therefore, if there were more such requirement, the same could have been asked for, however, to deny merely on the ground of his not having specified of his being a liquidator or for that matter, a very negligible and minor aspect, deserves the disapproval of the Court. It is not to be forgotten by the respondent authority that the registration under the GST Act is a must for the liquidator to operate and fulfill the obligations in his capacity as a liquidator as required under the statute. It is the NCLT which has appointed the liquidator who could not have been asked to run from the post to pillar and approached the Court by adopting highly technical and deprecated complexity in awarding the GST Registration Number.

In case of any delay in obtaining the registration, Section 25(8) obligates the proper officer to proceed to register such person. He may impose a penalty in accordance with Section 122 of the GST Act, however, this non-grant of registration for fulfilling the official duty for the sell of business of the company-in-liquidation as a going concern/slump sale basis or on standalone basis deserves the indulgence with a specific direction to the highest authority under the GST Regime to stop having hyper technical approach and instead make it more user friendly.

However, court also noted that the liquidator could have approached the concerned authority well in time, however, if he has not done it because of the various details that he needed to gather and collate, he could not have been sent from the post to pillar.

In net result, the court allowed the petition and directed the GST authorities to grant registration under the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2016 and allow the GST Number qua M/s. Stratus Foods Private Limited within two (2) weeks from the date of receipt of writ of the order.