Mr. Pranay Jain Mr. Karan Singh, Advs v. PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER OF GOODS AND SERVICE TAX EAST DELHI

Through: Mr. Akash Panwar, Adv. CORAM: JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH JUSTICE RAJNEESH KUMAR GUPTA % O R D E R 17.04.2025

1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode. CM APPL. 22018/2025 in W.P.(C) 2461/2025

2. This is an application filed by ld. Counsel for Principal Commissioner of Goods and Service Tax, East Delhi (hereinafter, the Department) under Section 379 r/w Section 215(1)(b), BNSS, 2023, seeking action against the Petitioner– M/s Royal Enterprises and for further registration of a complaint by the Registrar General of this Court.

3. The factual situation giving rise to the present Application is quite serious. The subject Writ Petition being W.P.(C) 2461/2025 was filed by the Petitioner, supported by an affidavit of Mr. Sahib Alam, claiming to be the proprietor of the Petitioner Concern.

4. The challenge in the subject writ petition was made to the Show Cause Notice (hereinafter, SCN) dated 27th September, 2024 issued by the Department. The petition further challenges the order dated 22nd October, 2024 passed by the Department in furtherance to the SCN for Cancellation of W.P.(C) 2461/2025 This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 23/04/2025 at 11:56:45 Registration of the GST Number of the Petitioner Concern. The SCN annexed as “Annexure P-1” in the subject writ petition is extracted herein below:

5. In terms of the order passed in the said SCN, since no reply was submitted by the Petitioner to the SCN, the cancellation of registration was directed with effect from 25th November, 2021 vide the order dated 22nd October, 2024.

6. The said order dated 22nd October, 2024 and the SCN came to be W.P.(C) 2461/2025 This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 23/04/2025 at 11:56:45 challenged by the Petitioner in the subject writ petition and reliance was placed upon a decision of this Court in Riddhi Siddhi Enterprises v. Commissioner of Goods and Services Tax (CGST), South Delhi & Anr in W.P. (C) no. 8061/2024.

7. The Court, while deciding the subject writ petition, examined the power of the Respondent-Department to cancel the registration of the Petitioner from a retrospective date and came to the conclusion that since there are no reasons set out in the SCN, by the Department, for such retrospective cancellation, the subject writ petition would succeed. The operative portion of the final order dated 27th February, 2025 passed in the subject writ petition reads as under: “4. In view of the above and when the impugned order it becomes is tested on the aforenoted precepts, apparent that absence of reasons in the original SCN in support of a proposed retrospective cancellation as well as a failure to place the petitioner on prior notice of such an intent clearly invalidates the impugned action. We are thus of the considered opinion that the writ petition is entitled to succeed on this short ground alone. 5. We accordingly allow the writ petition by modifying cancellation of the petitioner’s GST registration shall come into effect from the date of the SCN i.e. 27 September 2024. 6. The stipulation in the impugned order of cancellation to come into effect from 25 November 2021 is consequently quashed.” impugned providing

8. In the present application, ld. Counsel for the Department- Mr. Akash Panwar pointed out that the SCN which was placed before the Court in the subject writ petition as “Annexure P-1” was a fabricated SCN in which a substantial portion of the notice containing the reasons for issuance of the W.P.(C) 2461/2025 This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 23/04/2025 at 11:56:45 SCN was deleted. The actual SCN which was uploaded on the portal is extracted below: W.P.(C) 2461/2025 This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 23/04/2025 at 11:56:45

9. Yesterday, i.e. on 16th April, 2025, when the matter was listed before this Court, Mr. Pranay Jain, ld. Counsel for the Petitioner was appearing virtually. The matter was thus listed for today. Today, he has appeared before the Court and submits that the SCN being “Annexure P-1” was given to him by his client/the Petitioner and he was not aware that there was any fabrication in the said notice. He further admits that the SCN as annexed with the application filed by the Department is correct.

10. Mr. Panwar, ld. Counsel also points out that there are three further SCNs which were challenged in three separate writ petitions, where a similar fabrication has come to the knowledge of the Department. In all the three matters as well, Mr. Pranay Jain is the counsel for the respective Petitioners. The details of the said petitions are reproduced herein below: i. W.P.(C) 1314/2025 titled M/s Trix India Sales Corporation v. Principal Commissioner of Goods and Service Tax East Delhi; ii. W.P.(C) 685/2025 titled S R Enterprises v. Pr. Commissioner of Goods and Service Tax, East Delhi; iii. W.P.(C) 2867/2025 titled M/s Compact Enterprises v. Principal Commissioner of Goods and Service Tax East Delhi.

11. In this background, is submitted by the ld. Counsel for the Department that the Department has further proceeded to file more such applications, challenging the respective SCNs in these writ petitions and the same are yet to be listed before this Court.

12. Under these circumstances, the following directions are issued: i. The final order dated 27th February, 2025 passed by the Court in this writ petition shall stands recalled and any order giving effect to the said order of this Court shall also not be given effect to. W.P.(C) 2461/2025 This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 23/04/2025 at 11:56:45 ii. The proprietor of the Petitioner Concern, Mr. Sahib Alam shall remain present in Court on the next date of hearing. iii. The Registry shall list all the three writ petitions mentioned above, along with the present writ petition, before this Court on the next date. iv. Intimation shall be given by Mr. Jain, ld. Counsel to the Petitioners in those three cases as well so that they can remain present before this Court.

13. List on 29th April, 2025. PRATHIBA M. SINGH, J RAJNEESH KUMAR GUPTA, J APRIL 17, 2025 dj/ss W.P.(C) 2461/2025 This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 23/04/2025 at 11:56:45