Surendra Kumar Proprietor M/S Palak Enterprises Vs… — GST and Indirect Tax | Allahabad HC (2025)

Surendra Kumar Proprietor M/S Palak Enterprises Vs… — GST and Indirect Tax | Allahabad HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Order dated 12.03.2023 cancelling registration set aside; petitioner permitted to file response to show cause notice dated 14.01.2023 within 15 days, whereafter the respondent is to provide an opportunity of hearing and decide with expedition.

Issue for consideration

Whether the order dated 12.03.2023 cancelling the petitioner's registration under the U.P. Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, passed without any response to the show cause notice dated 14.01.2023 and without an opportunity of hearing, suffered from non-application of mind and deserved to be set aside.

Court's answer

The impugned order dated 12.03.2023 reflects non-application of mind by the officer: while admittedly no response was given by the petitioner to the show cause notice, the order nonetheless indicated that a reply dated 14.02.2023 had been filed and examined, and then cancelled the registration on the ground of 'no response received'.

Ratio / Principle

Without going into the other aspects of the matter as raised, the Court deemed it appropriate to set aside the order dated 12.03.2023 passed by the respondent cancelling the petitioner's registration.

Key takeaways

Operative directions: the petitioner may file its response to the show cause notice dated 14.01.2023 within 15 days; on filing of the reply, the respondent is to provide an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner and decide the matter with expedition.ratio¶14

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Allahabad High Court (Division Bench; Arun Bhansali, CJ and Kshitij Shailendra, J; Neutral Citation 2025:AHC:30335-DB; Order Date 4.3.2025) disposed of WRIT TAX No. 291 of 2025 (Surendra Kumar, Proprietor M/s Palak Enterprises v. Superintendent CGST Sector 5 Jaunpur), which challenged the order dated 12.03.2023 cancelling the petitioner's registration under the U.P. Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The Court found the order had been passed 'without any application of mind': it recited examination of a reply dated 14.02.2023 while cancelling the registration for 'no response received', even though the petitioner had admittedly filed no response to the show cause notice dated 14.01.2023. Setting aside the order dated 12.03.2023 without entering the other aspects raised, the Court permitted the petitioner to file his response within 15 days and directed the respondent, after providing an opportunity of hearing, to decide the matter with expedition.

Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:30335-DB

Chief Justice's Court

Case :- WRIT TAX No. - 291 of 2025

Petitioner :- Surendra Kumar Proprietor M/s Palak Enterprises Respondent :- Superintendent CGST Sector 5 Jaunpur Counsel for Petitioner :- Rishi Raj Kapoor Counsel for Respondent :- Gaurav Mahajan, S.C.

Hon'ble Arun Bhansali,Chief Justice Hon'ble Kshitij Shailendra,J.

This petition has been filed by the petitioner challenging the order dated 12.03.2023 passed by the respondents cancelling the petitioner's registration under the U.P. Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

Submissions have been made that a show cause notice was issued to the petitioner on 14.01.2023, however, being nonconversant with reading the notices on Portal, he could not file response to the said notice and without providing any opportunity of hearing, the order impugned has been passed and, therefore, the same deserves to be quashed and set aside.

Learned Standing Counsel supported the order impugned.

We have considered the submissions and have perused the material available on record.

A bare perusal of order dated 12.03.2023 (Annexure-1 to the petition) reveals that the same has been passed without any application of mind. Admittedly, no response to the show cause notice was given by the petitioner, however, the order indicates that reply dated 14.02.2023 was filed which was examined and for the reason 'no response received', the registration has been cancelled.

The very fact that though no response was given by the petitioner to indicate that the response was received and then to cancel the registration on non-receipt of any response clearly reflects non application of mind by the officer for passing the order impugned.

In view of the above, without going into the other aspects of the

matter as raised, we deem it appropriate and, therefore, set aside the order dated 12.03.2023 passed by the respondent.

The petitioner may file its response to the show cause notice dated 14.01.2023 within a period of 15 days, on filing of the said reply, the respondent after providing an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner, would decide the same with expedition.

The petition is, accordingly, disposed of.

Order Date :- 4.3.2025 nd

(Kshitij Shailendra, J) (Arun Bhansali, CJ)

Digitally signed by :- NISITH DEY High Court of Judicature at Allahabad