The Calcutta High Court permitted an applicant to seek revocation of his cancelled GST registration, reaffirming statutory remedies. Justice Om Narayan Rai cited Section 30 of the GST Act read with Rule 23, enabling applications before the Proper Officer.
WEST BENGAL: The Calcutta High Court has allowed the applicant to file a revocation application regarding the cancellation of his Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration.
Justice Om Narayan Rai referenced that under Section 30 of the GST Act, in conjunction with Rule 23 of the GST Rules, a registered person whose GST registration has been cancelled can submit an application for revocation to the Proper Officer.
The cancellation stemmed from an allegation of incorrect Input Tax Credit (ITC) claims, violating Section 16 of the GST Act, 2017. While the court upheld the cancellation order, it maintained the applicant’s right to seek revocation.
On July 29, 2025, the GST registration of Sk. Amir Chand was cancelled following a Show Cause Notice (SCN) issued on April 3, 2025. The applicant was accused of improperly claiming the ITC, but did not respond to the notice before the cancellation.
The court noted that the cancellation order directed the applicant to approach the High Court for relief, asserting that he did not receive a fair opportunity to present his case. The applicant’s counsel argued that the cancellation was unjust, citing a family member’s serious illness as the reason for the lack of response to the notice.
Section 30 of the Act, 2017 provides for “Revocation of cancellation of registration.“-
(1) Subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, any registered person, whose registration is cancelled by the proper officer on his own motion, may apply to such officer for revocation of cancellation of the registration in such manner, within such time and subject to such conditions and restrictions, as may be prescribed.
(2) The proper officer may, in such manner and within such period as may be prescribed, by order, either revoke cancellation of the registration or reject the application:
Provided that the application for revocation of cancellation of registration shall not be rejected unless the applicant has been given an opportunity of being heard.
Provided further that such revocation of cancellation of registration shall be subject to such conditions and restrictions, as may be prescribed.
(3) The revocation of cancellation of registration under the State Goods and Services Tax Act or the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be a revocation of cancellation of registration under this Act.
The court said,
“A registered person, whose registration is cancelled by the Proper Officer, can get the registration revoked by approaching the Proper Officer with appropriate application under Section 30 of the said Act of 2017 read with Rule 23 of the Rules”.
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The court emphasized that the applicant had approached the High Court within the allowable period to file a revocation application post-cancellation. It ruled that, although the writ petition itself would not be entertained, the applicant should be given the opportunity to submit a revocation application within two weeks.
Furthermore, the Proper Officer was directed to treat this application as timely filed and to resolve it within four weeks, adhering fully to legal provisions. Importantly, the court clarified that it did not address the merits of the GST ITC violation, leaving those matters to the Proper Officer’s discretion.
The judgment underlined the necessity for recognizing such circumstances, ensuring that applicants are permitted to present their records and explanations before the Proper Officer.
While state authorities defended the cancellation, they maintained that the order was properly executed after the applicant lost the right to respond to the statutory notice.
Case Title: Sk. Amir Chand vs The State of West Bengal WPA 17949 of 2025
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