2025 (9) TMI 1391 - HC - GST

GST registration restored after applicant paid dues, interest and late fees; respondents to notify and applicant to pay further dues

Azaria corp LLP Versus The Deputy Commissioner of State Tax, (MUM-VAT-E-809) & Anr.

HC granted relief seeking restoration of cancelled GST registration after finding the applicant had paid all dues, interest and late fees and that ... Seeking the restoration of the Petitioner’s cancelled GST registration - delay in filling returns for bona fide reasons - HELD THAT:- In the decisions relied upon by the Petitioner, the common thread was that the restoration of the registration would benefit the Petitioner as well as the Revenue. The Petitioner would be able to undertake its business and pay GST in terms of the law. A permanent cancellation and that too for failure to file returns or pay dues, may not be in the interest of either the Petitioner or the Respondents. In this case, as noted earlier, the Petitioner has prima facie made amends by paying the entire dues, interest and late fees. Besides, in the decisions relied upon by the Petitioner, the facts were quite like those that are present in this case. True, in those matters, the Counsel appearing on behalf of the Revenue made a statement that the Revenue would have no objection to the restoration of cancellation, provided all dues are cleared. Merely because such a statement is not being made in the present matter, we do not think that we should deny the Petitioner any relief on the lines granted to the Petitioner in the decisions referred to by the Petitioner. There is no serious dispute that the material facts in the present case are not significantly different from the facts in the decision relied upon by the learned Counsel for the Petitioner. Within 15 days from the date of the uploading of this order, the Respondents must inform in writing the Petitioner if the Petitioner is liable to pay any further amounts towards penalty, dues, etc. Within 15 days of the receipt of such intimation, the Petitioner must pay the demanded amount - Petition disposed off. ISSUES PRESENTED AND CONSIDERED 1. Whether cancellation of GST registration for failure to file returns and remit dues can be set aside where the registrant subsequently pays outstanding tax, interest and late fees. 2. Whether the doctrine of proportionality applies to the permanent cancellation of GST registration in circumstances where restoration would serve the interests of revenue and the registrant. 3. Whether the Court may condition restoration of cancelled GST registration on payment of outstanding amounts, any additional penalties communicated by the revenue within a specified period, and ancillary payments offered by the registrant (including voluntary payments to public institutions). ISSUE-WISE DETAILED ANALYSIS Issue 1: Setting aside cancellation of GST registration after subsequent payment of tax, interest and late fees Legal framework: Statutory scheme permits cancellation of GST registration for failure to file returns or pay tax. Administrative authorities exercise power to cancel; judicial review is available to assess legality, reasonableness and proportionality of cancellation. Precedent Treatment: The Court relied on prior High Court decisions where registrations were restored after dues (tax, interest, late fees, penalties) were cleared; those precedents involved either concessions by revenue counsel or judicial acceptance that restitution of registration benefits both parties. Interpretation and reasoning: The Court accepted the factual premise that cancellation for non-filing/non-payment was legally justifiable. However, where the registrant has paid the principal tax along with interest and late fees, the continued permanent cancellation was found prima facie disproportionate. The Court emphasized that the revenue was not prejudiced by restoration where dues are satisfied and that restoration enables lawful commerce and future tax compliance. Ratio vs. Obiter: Ratio - Where outstanding tax, interest and late fees have been paid and there is no material dispute about such payments, the Court may quash a cancellation order and restore registration; this is subject to the revenue's right to claim any additional penalties or dues within a specified timeframe. Obiter - Observations on the administrative prudence of revenue concessions in other cases. Conclusion: The cancellation was quashed conditionally because the registrant had paid tax, interest and late fees and the respondents did not dispute those payments; restoration was directed subject to compliance with the Court's further conditions (see Issue 3). Issue 2: Application of the doctrine of proportionality to permanent cancellation of registration Legal framework: Principle of proportionality governs administrative action - measures must be appropriate, necessary and proportionate to legitimate aims; excessive measures contrary to proportionality can be set aside on judicial review. Precedent Treatment: The Court referred to coordinate bench decisions that treated permanent cancellation for non-filing/non-payment as potentially disproportionate when substantial compliance or repayment had occurred subsequently. Interpretation and reasoning: The Court applied proportionality to balance the revenue's interest in enforcement against the registrant's ability to carry on business and the public interest in future tax collection. It found that permanent cancellation, despite payment of dues post-cancellation, would disable lawful business activity and possibly reduce future revenue, thereby being disproportionate in the present facts. Ratio vs. Obiter: Ratio - Proportionality can justify restoration of registration where the registrant has remedied default and restoration advances both revenue collection and legitimate business activity. Obiter - Comparative observations on policy considerations favoring restoration in similar fact patterns. Conclusion: Proportionality weighed in favor of conditional restoration; therefore permanent cancellation was not an appropriate outcome given the payments made and absence of disputed factual impediments. Issue 3: Conditions for restoration - further amounts, timelines, and ancillary voluntary payments Legal framework: Judicial power to grant equitable relief subject to conditions; administrative authorities retain power to assess and claim lawful dues, penalties and to object where appropriate. Courts may impose deadlines and direct payment of specified sums as a condition of relief. Precedent Treatment: Prior decisions restored registration subject to clearing all dues, interest and penalties; in some cases counsel for revenue expressly consented to such conditions. The Court also noted decisions from other jurisdictions where delay was condoned upon payment of dues. Interpretation and reasoning: The Court framed a procedural mechanism: respondents to inform registrant of any additional amounts (penalty, etc.) within 15 days; registrant to pay those additional amounts within 15 days of intimation. If no intimation is made within 15 days, or if the registrant complies with payment on intimation, the cancellation shall be quashed and set aside. Failure to pay within the stipulated period would result in dismissal with a specified cost payable to a public hospital. The Court accepted a voluntary payment (corporate social responsibility donation) offered by the registrant and made its timely payment a condition of relief, while clarifying interaction with the costs order. Ratio vs. Obiter: Ratio - Restoration may be granted subject to (a) disclosure by revenue of any additional lawful dues within a fixed period and (b) payment of such dues by the registrant within a fixed period; further, the Court may require an ancillary voluntary payment as a condition of relief. Obiter - Remarks about absence of revenue counsel's written instruction in the present matter and comparison with cases where revenue counsel expressly consented. Conclusion: Restoration ordered on specific conditions: respondents to notify any further amounts due within 15 days; registrant to pay demanded amounts within 15 days of such intimation; if complied with (or if no intimation), cancellation stands quashed; failure to pay leads to dismissal and a costs order. Registrant's voluntary payment to a public hospital was accepted and directed to be paid within 15 days, with payment offsetting the costs requirement if made. Cross-references and Practical Implications 1. Issues 1 and 2 are interlinked: payment of dues (Issue 1) directly informs the proportionality analysis (Issue 2); restoration was ordered because both factors supported relief. 2. Issue 3 operationalizes the relief: it preserves the revenue's remedial rights by permitting additional claims within a short window while ensuring the registrant's ability to resume business if compliant. 3. The Court treated prior decisions as persuasive precedent where facts were substantially similar, even if the revenue in those cases had expressly consented; lack of revenue concession in the present matter did not preclude similar relief when material facts were analogous and undisputed.