M/S Kundan Kumar (a Sole Proprietorship Firm) Vs The Union of India — Patna HC (2024) — LawSathi Research

M/S Kundan Kumar (a Sole Proprietorship Firm) Vs The Union of India — Patna HC (2024) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Dismissed

Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner's registration cancelled on 05.03.2021 could be restored, as in earlier orders of this Court relied on by him (under which cancelled registrations were restored if the entire taxes due were paid within four weeks), notwithstanding the lapse of time and the non-availment of the appellate remedy and the Amnesty Scheme. +1 more

Court's answer

The earlier orders of this Court relied on by the petitioner (directing restoration of cancelled registration if the entire taxes due were paid within four weeks) were not applied here: the cancellation under challenge is of the year 2021, the petitioner being not a registered dealer thereafter, there was no monitoring of his activities by the Department in the intervening period, and there is no way to ascertain whether any transaction was carried out during that period.

Ratio / Principle

The petitioner had not availed of the alternate remedy (neither the appellate remedy from the cancellation order nor the Amnesty Scheme which was made applicable) at the appropriate time, and the resulting delay stands against the petitioner.

Key takeaways

The writ petition is dismissed, the Court declining to exercise its discretion in favour of the petitioner.ratio¶¶22

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Patna High Court, Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.1485 of 2024, decided 17-02-2024; Bench: K. Vinod Chandran, CJ (oral judgment) and Harish Kumar, J. A sole proprietorship (M/S Kundan Kumar) challenged the cancellation of its registration dated 05.03.2021 (Annexure-P/2), passed after a show cause notice and reply. It relied on earlier orders of this Court in which cancelled registrations were restored where the entire taxes due were paid within four weeks. The petitioner, however, had neither appealed the cancellation order nor availed the Government's Amnesty Scheme (Circular No. 3 of 2023), which permitted cancelled registrants to restore registration on payment of dues between 31.03.2023 and 31.08.2023. Observing that a cancellation of 2021 left the petitioner - no longer a registered dealer - unmonitored by the Department in the intervening period, with no way to ascertain whether any transaction was carried out therein, and that the alternate remedies had been ignored, the Court dismissed the writ petition, declining to exercise its discretion.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.1485 of 2024

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M/S Kundan Kumar (A Sole Proprietorship Firm) having its registered office at Ramdauli, Panch-Sitalpur, Kamalpur, Block Bidupur, Hajipur at Vaishali Bihar-844503 through its sole proprietor Mr. Kundan Kumar, aged about 37 year (M), S/o Mithilesh Kumar Singh.

... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

The Union of India through the Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, having its office at Room No. 46, North Block, P.O. and P.S. North Block, New Delhi-110001

The State of Bihar through its Commissioner, BGST, New Secretariat, Patna.

Superintendent CGST and CX, Hajipur Circle, Vaishali.

Joint Commissioner of State Tax, Hajipur Circle, Vaishali.

Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Hajipur Circle, Vaishali.

... ... Respondent/s

======================================================

Appearance :

For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Anurag Saurav, Advocate For the Respondent/s : Dr. K.N. Singh, ASG ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HARISH KUMAR ORAL JUDGMENT (Per: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE)

Date : 17-02-2024

The petitioner is before this Court challenging the cancellation of registration dated 05.03.2021 at Annexure-P/2. A show cause notice was issued, which was replied to and after considering the said reply as also the submissions made at the time of hearing, the order of cancellation of registration was passed. An appeal is

Patna High Court CWJC No.1485 of 2024 dt.17-02-2024 2/3

provided from Annexure-P/2, which was also not availed of. Further, the Government had come out with an Amnesty Scheme by Circular No. 3 of 2023 by which the registered dealers, whose registrations were cancelled, were permitted to restore their registration, on payment of all dues, between 31.03.2023 to 31.08.2023. The petitioner did not avail of such remedy also.

The petitioner places reliance on various judgments of this Court, in which this Court had directed that if the entire taxes due were paid within four weeks, the cancelled registration would be restored. However, we see that here, agitated is a cancellation of registration of the year 2021. The petitioner being not a registered dealer, there was no monitoring of his activities by the Department in the intervening period. There is no way to ascertain as to whether there was any transaction carried out during the said period. We also notice that the petitioner has not availed of the appellate remedy nor the Amnesty Scheme which was made applicable.

The petitioner had not availed of the alternate remedy at the appropriate time and the delay stands against

Patna High Court CWJC No.1485 of 2024 dt.17-02-2024 3/3

the petitioner. Hence, we dismiss the writ petition; declining

exercise of discretion.

(K. Vinod Chandran, CJ)

(Harish Kumar, J)

aditya/-

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Uploading Date	22.02.2024.
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