Gujarat High Court
M/S Yuvraj Corporate Club vs Joint Commissioner Appeals on 23 September, 2024
Author: Bhargav D. Karia
Bench: Bhargav D. Karia
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/13342/2024 ORDER DATED: 23/09/2024
undefined
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 13342 of 2024
================================================================
M/S YUVRAJ CORPORATE CLUB
Versus
JOINT COMMISSIONER APPEALS & ANR.
================================================================
Appearance:
VIJAY H PATEL(7361) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
DEEPAK N KHANCHANDANI(7781) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
================================================================
CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BHARGAV D. KARIA
and
HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE MAUNA M. BHATT
Date : 23/09/2024
ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BHARGAV D. KARIA)
[1] Heard learned advocate Mr.Vijay H. Patel for the
petitioner and learned advocate Mr.Deepak N.
Khanchandani for the respondent No.2.
[2] By this petition, the petitioner has challenged
the order passed by the Appellate Authority, whereby the
order of cancellation of registration passed by the
Assessing Officer has been upheld and the appeal was
dismissed on the ground of limitation.
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/13342/2024 ORDER DATED: 23/09/2024
undefined
[3] The petitioner challenged the order of
cancellation of registration on the ground of not providing
an opportunity of hearing as well as such order was
passed without assigning any reason for cancellation of
the registration of the petitioner.
[4] The Coordinate Bench of this Court in case of M/
s. Aggrawal Dyeing & Printing vs. State of Gujarat
reported in (2022) 137 Taxmann.com 332 (Guj.) has
issued the guidelines to the respondent-authorities as
under:
"18. Our final conclusion are as under:
18.1. Until the Department is able to develop and
upload an appropriate software in the portal which
would enable the Department to feed all the
necessary information and material particulars in the
show cause notice as well as in the final order of
cancellation of registration that may be passed, the
authority concerned shall issue an appropriate show
cause notice containing all the necessary details and
information in a physical form and forward the same
to the dealer by RPAD. In the same manner, when it
comes to passing the final order, the same shall also
be passed in a physical form containing all the
necessary information and particulars and shall be
forwarded to the dealer by RPAD.
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/13342/2024 ORDER DATED: 23/09/2024
undefined
18.2 Over a period of time, we have noticed in many
matters that the impugned order cancelling the
registration of a dealer travels beyond the scope of
the show cause notice. Many times, the dealer is
taken by surprise when he gets to read in the order
that the authority has relied upon some inspection
report or spot visit report etc. If the authority wants
to rely upon any particular piece of evidence then it
owes a duty to first bring it to the notice of the dealer
so that if the dealer has anything to say in that
regard, he may do so. Even if the authority wants to
rely on any documentary evidence, the dealer should
be first put to the notice of such documentary
evidence and only thereafter, it may be looked into.
18.3 The aforesaid may appear to be very trivial
issues but, it assumes importance in reducing the
unnecessary litigation. Our concern is that on
account of procedural lapses, the High Court should
not be flooded with writ applications. The procedural
aspects should be looked into by the authority
concerned very scrupulously and deligently. Why
unnecessarily give any dealer a chance to make a
complaint before this Court when it could have been
easily avoided by the department.
19. In the result, all the writ applications deserve to
be allowed solely on the ground of violation of
principles of natural justice and, accordingly, the writ
applications are allowed. We quash and set aside the
respective show cause notices of all the writ
applications, seeking cancellation of registration as
well as the consequential respective impugned
orders cancelling registration with liberty to the
respondent No. 2 to issue fresh notice with
particulars of reasons incorporated with details and
thereafter to provide reasonable opportunity of
hearing to the writ applicants, and to pass
appropriate speaking orders on merits. It is needless
to mention that it shall be open for the writ
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/13342/2024 ORDER DATED: 23/09/2024
undefined
applicants to respond to such notices by filing
objections / reply with necessary documents, if relied
upon. We clarify that we have not gone into merits of
the case."
[5] The aforesaid judgment was rendered in the year
2022. However, in spite of the above direction issued by
this Court, the respondent-authorities without following
such directions are issuing cryptic notice and order for
cancellation of registration number of the petitioner.
[6] In the present matter, order of cancellation of
registration is passed without giving any reason by the
respondent authorities, and appeal filed by the petitioner
under Section 107 of the GST Act is also dismissed.
[7] As the Appellate Authority has dismissed the appeal
of the petitioner, the respondent authorities will not be
able to exercise the revisional power under section 108 of
the GST Act. Therefore, the impugned order passed by the
Appellate Authority as well as the order of cancellation of
registration are required to be quashed and set aside.
Accordingly, the matter is remanded back to the Assessing
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/13342/2024 ORDER DATED: 23/09/2024
undefined
Officer at the show cause notice stage. However, the
registration of the petitioner shall remain suspended till
the show-cause notice is decided by the Assessing Officer
as per the following directions:
(i) The Assessing Officer shall provide detail reason
for cancellation of registration of the petitioner, if not
supplied earlier within a period of two weeks from the
date of receipt of copy of this order.
(ii) Even if the reasons are supplied earlier and if the
petitioner requests for the same, the respondent-
authorities shall again provide a copy of the reasons
for cancellation of the registration upon such request.
(iii) The petitioner shall file written reply upon receipt
of the detail reasons for issuance of the show-cause
notice for cancellation of registration within a period
of two weeks from the date of receipt of the reasons.
(iv) After receipt of the reply from the petitioner, the
respondent authorities shall pass appropriate order in
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/13342/2024 ORDER DATED: 23/09/2024
undefined
accordance with law after providing opportunity of
personal hearing to the petitioner and after
considering the reply of the petitioner within a period
of four weeks from the date of personal hearing.
(v) The aforesaid timeline shall be followed by both
the sides. The petitioner shall also cooperate with the
respondent-authorities in compliance of the aforesaid
timeline for disposal of the show-cause notice by the
respondent authorities.
[8] In view of the above, this petition is partly
allowed and accordingly, stands disposed of by quashing
and setting aside the impugned order passed by the
Appellate Authority as well as order of cancellation of
registration and the matter is remanded to the Assessing
Officer at show-cause notice stage, however, the
registration number of the petitioner shall remain
suspended till such show cause notice is disposed of as
per the directions given above.
[9] It is clarified that this Court has not gone into
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/13342/2024 ORDER DATED: 23/09/2024
undefined
the merits of the matter. The respondent-authorities shall
pass appropriate order in accordance with law after
providing detail reasons and opportunity of hearing to the
petitioner.
(BHARGAV D. KARIA, J)
(MAUNA M. BHATT,J)
PALAK
