Telangana High Court permits belated revocation request for cancelled GST registration when portal blocks filing

Introduction

The Telangana High Court, in Sai Laxmi Traders Vs Deputy State Tax Officer, addressed a practical difficulty faced by an assessee whose GST registration had been cancelled for non-filing of returns and who was subsequently unable to submit a revocation application on the GST portal due to expiry of the prescribed time limit.

While the limitation period for filing an appeal against the cancellation had already lapsed, the Court carved out procedural relief by allowing the assessee to file an application for revocation of cancellation before the competent authority, first through the online system and, if that failed due to technical reasons, by way of physical filing.

The decision underscores the High Court’s readiness, in appropriate circumstances, to ensure that technical roadblocks on the GST portal do not completely foreclose a statutory remedy, while still leaving the final decision on merits to the designated authority.

Brief facts of the case

Cancellation of GST registration

  • The assessee, Sai Laxmi Traders, held GST Registration No. 36AXYPK3376J1ZN.
  • The registration was cancelled by an Order for Cancellation of Registration in Form GST REG-19 dated 29.05.2025.
  • The stated ground for cancellation was non-filing of GST returns for a continuous period of six months.

By the time the assessee approached the Court:

  • The statutory time limit for filing an appeal against the cancellation order had already expired.
  • As a result, an appellate remedy under the GST law was no longer available on limitation grounds.

Given this situation, the assessee invoked the writ jurisdiction of the Telangana High Court, seeking permission to pursue revocation of cancellation of GST registration.

Explanation offered by the assessee

In the writ petition, the assessee put forth the following contentions:

  • Since obtaining GST registration, the assessee claimed to have regularly filed returns and discharged tax dues.
  • A phase of severe financial stress and business decline led to an inability to file the monthly returns for a limited period.
  • The responsibility for e-filing of GST returns had been entrusted to a Chartered Accountant, who allegedly failed to file the returns within time.
  • According to the assessee, there was no deliberate or wilful default; the non-filing was said to be the result of circumstances and professional lapse.
  • During this period, a show-cause notice proposing cancellation was issued, but the Chartered Accountant did not intimate the same to the assessee.
  • Consequently, the assessee did not submit any reply, and the cancellation order in Form GST REG-19 came to be passed ex parte.

These assertions were advanced to explain why the returns had not been filed and why no timely response was made to the show-cause notice preceding cancellation.

Post-cancellation, the assessee attempted to utilise the statutory remedy of revocation of cancellation of GST registration. However, the assessee encountered a technical barrier:

  • When the assessee tried to file the revocation application on the GST common portal, the system refused to accept the application.
  • The reason indicated was that the attempt was beyond the prescribed time limit for filing a revocation request.

Because the online facility was not accepting the revocation application, the assessee’s counsel requested the High Court to:

  • Authorise the assessee to submit a manual (physical) application for revocation before the jurisdictional officer, and
  • Direct the officer to consider such application in accordance with law, without rejecting it merely on the ground that it was filed beyond the portal’s permitted timeline.

Submissions before the High Court

Assessee’s submissions

The learned counsel for the assessee made, in substance, the following submissions before the Telangana High Court: