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2023 Supreme(Raj) 2354

IN THE HIGH COURT OF RAJASTHAN
SANDEEP MEHTA, KULDEEP MATHUR, JJ.
Kanika Vishnoi - Petitioner
Versus
Union Of India and Ors. - Respondents
D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 18273 of 2022.
Decided on : 02-01-2023

Advocates:
Advocate Appeared:
For the Petitioner: Mr. Sharad Kothari.
For the Respondents: Mr. Kuldeep Vaishnav.

Headnote:(A) Goods and Services Tax Act - Cancellation of registration - The cancellation of the petitioner's GST registration was a significant hindrance to her earning livelihood and fulfilling obligations to the exchequer, thus invoking Article 21 of the Constitution - Order dismissing appeal as time-barred was set aside, allowing the petitioner to appeal against cancellation. (Paras 4, 6, 8)

(B) Right to livelihood - Cancellation of GST registration leads to deprivation of means of livelihood resulting in violation of right to life and liberty as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution. (Paras 6, 7)

Facts of the case:
The petitioner, whose GST registration was cancelled, sought to revoke it. Her initial application was rejected for being time-barred. The dismissal of her appeal for delay was challenged as unjustifiably punitive, especially as it affected her business and livelihood.

Findings of Court:
The court found that maintaining the cancellation of the petitioner's registration serves no useful purpose and directly conflicts with her right to earn a livelihood, thereby potentially infringing her constitutional rights.

Issues: The main issues included whether the dismissal of the appeal as time-barred was justifiable and the implications of such dismissal on the petitioner's business and rights.

Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that the cancellation of GST registration without considering the impact on the petitioner's ability to earn a livelihood is a violation of Article 21, and it set aside the dismissal allowing her to file a fresh appeal. (Para 8)

Result: Petition allowed.

Table of Content
1. cancellation of gst registration process and appeals. (Para 4)
2. arguments related to unjustified dismissal and livelihood concerns. (Para 5 , 6)
3. impact of gst cancellation on rights and revenue. (Para 7)
4. court's directive on appeal re-filing and consideration. (Para 8)
5. conclusion of the writ petition and its disposal. (Para 9)

ORDER :

Mr. Sandeep Mehta, J. - Issue notice to the respondents.

2. Learned counsel Mr. Kuldeep Vaishnav puts in appearance on behalf of the respondents.

3. With the consent of the learned counsel for the parties, the case is being heard and decided today itself.

4. The petitioner was a dealer registered under the GST Act. Her registration came to be cancelled vide order dated 27.01.2021. The petitioner thereafter moved an application for revocation of the cancelled registration. The said application was rejected by the competent authority vide order dated 26.04.2021 (Annex.6). The petitioner preferred an appeal against the said order, which too has been dismissed by the appellate authority by order dated 06.10.2022 (Annex.8) for the sole reason that it was time barred.

5. Learned counsel Mr. Sharad Kothari, representing the petitioner, placed reliance on the judgments of this court in the cases of Poonamchand Saran v. Union of India & Anr. (D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.14521/2022 decided on 29.09.2022) and Prakash Purohit v. The Commissioner, Central Goods and Service Tax, Jaipur & Ors. (D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.16269/2022 decided on 10.11.2022) and urged that the appeal of the petitioner has been unjustifiably dismissed on the hyper-technical ground of delay. He submitted that the cancelled registration of the petitioner is causing loss to exchequer because she is being deprived from depositing GST with the Department. In addition thereto, the petitioner is deprived of earning livelihood on account of cancellation of GST registration.

6. Learned counsel Mr. Kuldeep Vaishnav, representing the respondents, candidly concedes that no useful purpose would be served by sustaining cancelled registration status of the petitioner.

7. It cannot be denied that on account of cancellation of registration, the petitioner would be unable to continue with her business and which would lead to deprivation of means of livelihood, resulting into violation of right to life and liberty as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India. This would in turn, cause loss of revenue to the exchequer.

8. In this background, the impugned order dated 06.10.2022 dismissing the appeal preferred by the petitioner is set aside. The petitioner is given liberty to file appeal against cancellation of GST registration to the competent authority within a period of 10 days from today. Upon such appeal being filed, the same shall be considered and decided on all aspects in accordance with law excluding the bar of limitation in preferring the appeal by the petitioner.

9. With the above observations and directions, the writ petition is disposed of.

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