Statutory authority limits cancellation of registration, and writ relief remains available against a patently unauthorised notice.

A notice proposing cancellation of a registration certificate was held unauthorised because the alleged false returns and failure to produce account books were not grounds contemplated by the governing sales tax statute for amendment or cancellation of registration. The power under the relevant provisions could not be used outside the statutory framework, and delegation did not cure the absence of authority. The existence of appeal or revision was not an absolute bar to writ jurisdiction where the impugned action was patently illegal on the face of the record. The notice was therefore unsustainable and writ relief was justified.

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Issues: Whether the notice proposing cancellation of the registration certificate was authorised by the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948, and whether the existence of an alternative remedy barred writ relief.

Analysis: The notice was founded on alleged false returns, failure to produce account books, and related conduct, but those matters did not fall within the grounds contemplated by section 16 for amendment or cancellation of registration. The power under section 7(4) could not be exercised on a basis outside the statutory framework, and delegation under section 15 did not cure the absence of authority. The availability of appeal or revision was not an absolute bar to writ jurisdiction, particularly where the illegality was apparent on the face of the record and the impugned notice was misconceived.

Conclusion: The notice was without authority of law and could not be sustained; writ relief was justified in favour of the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: Cancellation of a registration certificate must rest on grounds sanctioned by the governing statute, and the existence of an alternative remedy does not preclude writ intervention where the impugned action is patently unauthorised.

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