Case Details
Case: Harini Agency v. The Superintendent of GST and Central Excise
Court: High Court of Judicature at Madras
Coram: Hon’ble Mr Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy
Case No.: W.P. No. 32082 of 2026
Connected Applications: W.M.P. Nos. 35281 and 35282 of 2026
Date of Decision: 20 August 2026
Impugned Order: Form GST REG-19 bearing Reference No. ZA331125179883B dated 24 November 2025
GSTIN: 33BXIPP7893Q1ZB
Background
The Madras High Court considered a writ petition filed by Harini Agency challenging the cancellation of its GST registration. The registration had been cancelled after issuance of a show cause notice dated 2 November 2018 alleging that the petitioner had not regularly filed the prescribed GST monthly returns.
The petitioner submitted that cancellation of the registration was causing immense hardship and requested restoration of the registration. Reliance was placed on the earlier judgment of the Madras High Court in Suguna Cutpiece v. Appellate Deputy Commissioner (ST) (GST), W.P. Nos. 25048 of 2021 batch.
The Revenue acknowledged that the registration was cancelled because of irregular filing of returns. It submitted that any restoration should be subject to compliance with all the conditions prescribed in Suguna Cutpiece.
Issue Before the Court
The principal issue was whether the petitioner’s cancelled GST registration could be restored subject to filing the pending returns and discharging the related tax liabilities.
Madras High Court’s Decision
The High Court observed that restoration of GST registration had been directed in Suguna Cutpiece subject to several conditions and that the judgment had subsequently been followed in numerous cases. To maintain consistency, the Court disposed of the present writ petition on the same terms.
Accordingly, restoration of the petitioner’s GST registration was made conditional upon compliance with the directions laid down in Suguna Cutpiece.
Conditions for Restoration
The petitioner must file returns for the period preceding the cancellation of registration within 45 days from receipt of the order. The petitioner must also pay the corresponding tax, interest and applicable fee for belated filing.
The tax, interest, fine or fee cannot be paid or adjusted by using any unutilised or unclaimed input tax credit. Any input tax credit remaining in the petitioner’s account cannot be utilised until it is scrutinised and approved by the competent departmental officer.
The petitioner must also file returns and pay GST for the period subsequent to cancellation by declaring the correct value of supplies. Any input tax credit earned during this period may be utilised only after scrutiny and approval by the competent authority.
Upon payment of the applicable tax and penalty and uploading of the returns, the GST registration will stand revived forthwith. The respondent authorities were also directed to take appropriate steps, including instructing the GST Network to enable the petitioner to file the returns and make the required payments. This exercise is required to be completed within 30 days from receipt of the order.
Conclusion
The Madras High Court permitted conditional restoration of Harini Agency’s GST registration by following its earlier decision in Suguna Cutpiece. The relief is subject to filing all pending returns, paying the applicable tax, interest, penalty and fees, and complying with the restrictions relating to the utilisation of input tax credit.
The writ petition was disposed of without any order as to costs, and the connected miscellaneous petitions were closed.
