GST: Madras High Court directs Department to grant retrospective registration for petitioner’s Registration Certificate [Read Order]

The Madras High Court directed the  Joint Commissioner & Assistant Commissioner to grant retrospective registration for the petitioner’s Registration Certificate.

The petitioner, Tvl.Lourdes Matha Cashew Industries was issued a provisional Registration Certificate under the Goods and Service Act by the respondent authority. According to him, he had taken steps for migration from the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax regime to the Tamil Nadu Goods and Service Tax regime.

However, he was unable to upload the details as required for migration and the process of migration was not finalized. He found out that it was partly on account of inadvertent omission/mistake of his Accounts Department in Tamil Nadu and partly due to the technical glitches caused in the computer system.

According to him, he submitted a letter to the respondent authority pointing out the difficulties faced by him with regard to the migration from Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax regime to the Tamil Nadu Goods and Service Tax regime.

However, according to him, there was no positive response from the Department. It is his case that he was compelled to apply for a fresh application for registration, as the provisional Registration Certificate issued to him earlier, got lapsed. It is his case that his fresh application was processed and valid Registration Certificate was issued by the respondent authority under the Tamil Nadu Goods and Service Tax Act.

The Special Government Pleader representing respondent authority submitted that the petitioner only obtained new registration and old registration was not in force when the petitioner submitted his returns. The retrospective effect cannot be given to the Registration certificate.

The Single Judge Bench of Justice Abdul Quddhose observed that the petitioner is entitled to a relief sought for in his representation is concerned, it is for the respondent authority to consider the same on merits and in accordance with the law.

Therefore the court directed the respondent authority to consider the petitioner’s representation seeking for validation of his registration from July 1, 2017, itself and pass final orders on merits and in accordance with the law and in the light of the decisions referred to by the petitioner in his representation after giving sufficient opportunity to the petitioner, within a period of 8 weeks.