9911796707
TMI Blog2024 (9) TMI 1288X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... l Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 ('CGST ACT' for brevity) and the Bihar State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (for brevity 'BGST Act') are aggrieved with the cancellation of their registration and the dismissal of an appeal filed; which appeal was delayed; in both cases by three years. The petitioners have also raised a contention against the cancellation of registration as is provided under Section 29 (2) of both the enactments. The petitioners' contention is that this would run counter to the fundamental right of the petitioners to carry on any trade, occupation, or business under Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution of India and the fundamental right to livelihood under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. 2. On the individual facts, we notice that the petitioner in CWJC 11874 of 2021 was issued with an order of cancellation of registration which is dated 15.01.2021, based on a show-cause notice issued on 05.01.2021. The petitioner's contention is that during the pandemic period, disaster struck in the family of the Director and both her in-laws and her own father died between March 2020 and June 2021. She had withdrawn from the business and she being the operational d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... siness; on almost identical set of facts. It is also responded, to a specific query as to why the petitioner cannot seek for a fresh registration, that the goodwill of the company would be lost. 6. Section 107 of the BGST Act permits an appeal to be filed within three months and also apply for delay condonation with satisfactory reasons within a further period of one month. We have to take into account the saving of limitation granted by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Suo Motu Writ Petition (C) No. 3 of 2020, In Re: Cognizance For Extension of Limitation. Therein, due to the pandemic situation, limitation was saved between 15.03.2020 till 28.02.2022. It was also directed that an appeal could be filed within three months from 01.03.2022. In CWJC No. 11874 of 2024, the order impugned in the appeal was dated 15.01.2021. An appeal was to be filed on or before 15.04.2021 as permitted by the statute or within 14.05.2021 with satisfactory explanation for the delay. As per the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court an appeal could have been filed within 31.05.2022 and if necessary, with a delay condonation application within one month thereafter. The appeal is said to have been filed only on ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o are enacted under Articles 245 and 246 read with Article 265. It is trite that when a power to register under an enactment is given, such benefit of registration cannot be continued indefinitely or infinitely and it is incumbent upon the registered person to duly comply with the various provisions of such enactment; which alone would enable continued benefit of registration. Any authority empowered to grant registration would also have the power to cancel it when there is non-compliance detected; which is the specific provision under 29 (2). 11. Coming back to the decision in Rohit Enterprises (supra) as we noticed, the hardship projected in CWJC 11874 of 2024 is almost identical though the mishap complained of is different; relatable to the pandemic period and the repeated deaths which occurred in the family of the operational director. The operational director of the petitioner does not clearly indicate the date on which she decided to resume the business or the date on which she came to know of the cancellation order. As we noticed herein above, the Hon'ble Supreme Court after the pandemic subsided, had granted a window of three months with further period as granted in a stat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... under Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution of India. It was urged that the cancellation of registration resulted in the total extinction of the business and was an unreasonable restriction thus making it ultra vires; as is the contention in the instant cases. There was no challenge against the provision for registration in the cited decision nor is it raised here too. 15. As far as the power conferred for cancellation, we extract the following paragraphs from the cited judgment; Then we turn to sub-s. (6), which provides that any registration under sub-s. (1) may be suspended or cancelled by such authority, for such reasons, and in such manner, as may be prescribed. The main attack of the petitioners is on this subsection. They contend that this sub-section authorises the State to cancel a registration. The effect of such cancellation read with sub-s. (1) is that a person whose registration is cancelled cannot carry on business in motor spirit as he was doing before the cancellation. It is said that cancellation results in the total extinction of the business of the person whose registration is cancelled and thus the provision as to cancellation is an unreasonable restri ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n Arts. 19(5) and 19(6) of the Constitution includes cases of 'prohibition' also; that where a restriction reaches the stage of total restraint of rights special care has to be taken by the Court to see that the test of reasonableness is satisfied by considering the question in the background of the facts and circumstances under which the order was made, taking into account the nature of the evil that was sought to be remedied by such law, the ratio of the harm caused to individual citizens by the proposed remedy, the beneficial effect reasonably expected to result to the general public, and whether the restraint caused by the law was more than was necessary in the interests of the general public." Applying these tests we are of opinion that the cancellation of registration will be justified even though it results in the extinction of business as such cancellation is in respect of a tax meant for the general revenues of the State to carry on the administration in the interest of the general public. 16. As we observed, there is no ground validly raised against the delay in filing an appeal. We have already dealt with the extension of limitation as granted by the Hon'ble ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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