Retrospective GST Cancellation Restricted to SCN Date by Delhi High Court

Case Details:
Case Title: M/s Natraj Steels Through Its Proprietor Ravinder Kumar Aggarwal v. Sales Tax Officer
Court: High Court of Delhi
Petition No.: W.P.(C) 6435/2025
Category of Dispute: Cancellation of GST Registration
Date of Judgement: 15.05.2025
Relevant Section: Article 226 of the Constitution of India; Rule 21 of CGST Rules; Section 29 of CGST Act
Coram: Justice Prathiba M. Singh, Justice Rajneesh Kumar Gupta

Facts of the Case [¶2–4]

• The petitioner initially operated under GSTIN 07AACPA3495P1ZF as M/s Natraj Steels, later changing the business name to M/s Natraj Industry with a new GSTIN 07AACPA3495P2ZE [¶3].

• Due to non-filing of returns under the earlier GSTIN, cancellation was initiated without the Petitioner realizing that it was retrospective from 01.07.2017 [¶4].

• Upon becoming aware of this in 2024, the Petitioner filed an appeal which was rejected as time-barred [¶4].

Question(s) in Consideration [¶2, ¶4]

• Whether the retrospective cancellation of GST registration from 01.07.2017 is legally valid, particularly when the business was operational and had transitioned to a new registration.

Observations of the Court [¶5–6]

• The Respondent Revenue, upon instructions, agreed to modify the effective date of cancellation from the arbitrary retrospective date to the date of issuance of Show Cause Notice (SCN), i.e., 04.09.2021 [¶5].

• The Court accepted this and directed that the GST cancellation shall be effective only from 04.09.2021, instead of 01.07.2017 [¶6].

Judgement of the Court [¶6–8]

• The Court ordered the GST cancellation to take effect from 04.09.2021 (SCN date) and directed the portal to be opened within ten days for filing returns and related compliance [¶6].

• The petitioner was directed to withdraw the earlier appeal within two weeks [¶7].

• The writ petition was disposed of with the above directions [¶8].

🧾 Between Fine Lines (Simple Summary)

1. GST registration of M/s Natraj Steels was cancelled retrospectively from 01.07.2017.

2. The petitioner had already transitioned to a new GSTIN due to a change in business name.

3. The High Court found that retrospective cancellation from 2017 was unjustified.

4. It limited the cancellation to the date of the SCN i.e., 04.09.2021.

5. The portal was ordered to be reopened for compliance, and the appeal was to be withdrawn.

📚 Summary of Referred Cases

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