Court grants relief to partnership firm, allowing late fee waiver for GST returns. Respondents directed to facilitate firm's filings.

The court allowed the writ petition filed by a partnership firm, directing the respondents to enable the firm to file returns without late fees for specific periods. The delay in processing the cancellation and new registration applications under the GST Act should not deprive the firm of the statutory benefit of the compounding scheme claimed through the new registration application. The respondents were given one month to make necessary portal changes for return filing and input tax credit availment.

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Issues:
Delay in cancellation of earlier registration and granting new registration under GST Act causing hindrance in filing returns under the compounded scheme.

Analysis:
The petitioner, a partnership firm, approached the court due to delay by the respondent in cancelling the earlier registration and granting a new registration under the GST Act. The firm initially opted for tax payment on a normal basis but later applied for a fresh GST registration to opt for the compounded scheme for tax payment. The delay in processing the cancellation and new registration applications led to a situation where the firm could not upload returns under the compounded scheme. The petitioner sought a direction to enable filing returns without late fees for specific periods.

The respondent admitted the delay in approving the cancellation application, attributing it to delayed processing through their system. Despite the delay, it was acknowledged that the petitioner had applied for cancellation of the earlier registration on 22.05.2018 and for new registration on 19.06.2018.

The court considered the timeline of applications by the petitioner and held that the delayed processing by the respondents should not deprive the petitioner of the statutory benefit of the compounding scheme claimed through the new registration application. Consequently, the court allowed the writ petition, directing the respondents to make necessary portal changes for the petitioner to file returns without late fees for the specified periods. The respondents were given one month to facilitate return uploading and input tax credit availment, upon receipt of the judgment copy.

In conclusion, the court's judgment addressed the delay issue in processing the cancellation and new registration applications, ensuring that the petitioner could benefit from the compounding scheme without facing penalties for the delay caused by the respondent's processing delays.

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