TMI Blog2023 (3) TMI 1169X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... l place of business in Haryana. The physical inspection carried out by the Range Officer had also indicated that a board was found hanging outside the premises which mentioned that the unit M/s A.S. Fasteners has been shifted to Badli Industrial Area. This supported the petitioner s contention that he was carrying on the business from its principal place of business till July, 2021 and thereafter from its principal place of business in Haryana. In terms of Section 29(2) of the Act, the proper officer has the discretion to cancel the registration from such date as he may deem fit if any of the reasons as set out in Section 29(2) of the Act are established. In the present case, there is no allegation that the petitioner had obtained its registration by means of fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts. In any view, there is no material to establish any such allegation as there is no dispute that the petitioner had filed his returns and paid the tax as disclosed by it. The only ground on which the petitioner s registration has been cancelled is that he has contravened the provisions of the Act inasmuch as he has not filed the requisite returns for transfer of stock and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e cancellation of the petitioner s GST registration. 4. The petitioner is, essentially, aggrieved by the denial of ITC refund consequent to the cancellation of its GST registration. Brief Facts 5. The petitioner is, inter alia, engaged in the business of manufacturing and supply of zipper fasteners, zipper sliders and other related products. The petitioner carries on his business under the name and style of his sole proprietorship concern named M/s A. S. Fastener. The said concern, with its principal place of business at Khasra No.80, Gali No.4, Samaypur Village, North West Delhi, Delhi, 110042, was registered under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (hereafter the Act ) with effect from 02.07.2017 (bearing GST Registration No.07AGCPJ2410P2ZG). 6. The petitioner regularly filed its GST returns and also paid the taxes as due. The petitioner has filed the statement of taxes paid during the period 01.07.2017 to 31.03.2022 and the said statement is not disputed by the respondent. 7. The petitioner claims that it formed a partnership with one Mr. Tarun Goyal on 31.07.2021, and commenced the same business in the name of M/s A. S. Fastener in Haryana with eff ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 8/- and the adjusted turn-over of outward supplies as ₹6,43,88,251/-. The fourth issue related to ITC of ₹1,28,175/- claimed in respect of three invoices. According to respondent no.2, a claim of ITC in respect of the said invoices was beyond the period stipulated under Section 54 of the Act. The fifth issue related to the allegation that the petitioner was non-existent at its place of business. Thereafter, the sixth and seventh issue related to non-declaration of transfer of goods and capital assets from the sole proprietorship concern to the firm. 12. Respondent no.1 issued a separate show-cause notice dated 04.01.2022 calling upon the petitioner to show cause as to why its GST registration should not be cancelled. The petitioner was called upon to appear before respondent no.1 on 06.01.2022 at 11.40 a.m. It is important to note that the said show-cause notice reflected the reasons for proposing cancellation as under:- Transfer of business on account of amalgamation, merger/demerger, sale, lease or otherwise disposed of etc. 13. Thereafter, on 14.01.2022, respondent no.1 issued an order cancelling the petitioner s GST registration on the ground that the p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... shifted the business to Haryana. He explained that he had not filed any application for surrendering his GST registration on account of closure of the business from the registered place of business, as his application for refund of ITC was yet to be processed. He also provided proof of termination of the rent agreement. The petitioner also explained that he was pursuing the proceedings for seeking revocation of cancellation of the GST registration solely to claim refund of accumulated ITC, which related to the manufacturing activity carried out during the period April, 2020 to March, 2021. He submitted that on receipt of the fund, he would apply for cancellation of registration. 18. Respondent no.3 rejected the aforesaid appeal by the order dated 31.10.2022, which is impugned in this petition. Respondent no.3 held that the GST registration could be cancelled for sufficient cause being shown and the grounds as mentioned by the petitioner were not justified and reasonable . Respondent no.3 also held that the petitioner had not adduced any evidence to prove his existence at the premises in question. 19. The petitioner, in the meantime, filed a reply to the show-cause notice dat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... going concern was not taxable. Reasons and Conclusions 24. At the outset, it is relevant to note that the learned counsel for the petitioner had submitted that the petitioner was desirous of surrendering his GST registration but had retained the same only for ensuring that his claim for refund of ITC is processed. A perusal of the impugned order dated 09.03.2022 rejecting the petitioner s application for refund of ITC indicates that the petitioner s request for refund of ITC was rejected principally on the ground that the petitioner was found to be non-existent by the Range Officer and his GST registration was cancelled. Insofar as the issues relating to discrepancies are concerned, the same were duly resolved. The petitioner had satisfactorily explained that there were no discrepancies as flagged by respondent no.2. Insofar as part of the claim beyond the period stipulated in Section 54 of the Act is concerned, the petitioner had accepted respondent no.2 s proposal to reject the claim aggregating ₹1,28,175/- as it pertained to invoices issued in September, 2019. However, the remaining three issues flagged by respondent no.2 remained unresolved. The petitioner was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ct are established. Section 29(2) of the Act is set out below: 29. Cancellation 1 [or suspension] of registration *** *** *** (2) The proper officer may cancel the registration of a person from such date, including any retrospective date, as he may deem fit, where,-- (a) a registered person has contravened such provisions of the Act or the rules made thereunder as may be prescribed; or (b) a person paying tax under section 10 has not furnished 4[the return for a financial year beyond three months from the due date of furnishing the said return]; or (c) any registered person, other than a person specified in clause (b), has not furnished returns for 5[such continuous tax period as may be prescribed]; or (d) any person who has taken voluntary registration under sub-section (3) of section 25 has not commenced business within six months from the date of registration; or (e) registration has been obtained by means of fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts: Provided that the proper officer shall not cancel the registration without giving the person an opportunity of being heard. Provided further that during pendency of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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