Court's decision paves way for businessman to continue his livelihood

-Non-renewal of his GST license due to medical treatment and coronavirus pandemic

Aurangabad: In a recent ruling by the Aurangabad bench, the livelihood of a businessman was restored after his Goods and Services Tax (GST) license was canceled due to the non-renewal of the license amid the pandemic and his heart medical treatment. The bench, consisting of Justice Mangesh Patil and Justice Santosh Chapalgaonkar, set aside all the orders of the GST department, including the suspension and cancellation of the license of Rohit Enterprises owner Changdev Deokar, and also invalidated the request for condonation of delay.

The bench declared that Deokar's suspended license would be valid from February 28, 2022 onwards, provided he files all unpaid GST returns and pays the full amount due, including interest, penalty, and fees.

Deokar, who runs a fabrication business, had registered for GST with the Central and State governments in 2018 and was regularly filing returns. However, the closure of his business during the pandemic and his heart surgery in August 2021 led to financial trouble, and he could not file GST returns from that month onwards.

As a result, the authorities suspended his GST registration and canceled his license. Deokar's appeal and request for condonation of delay were rejected by the deputy commissioner, leaving him with no means of livelihood.

Deokar's lawyer, Adv Alok Sharma, argued that the strict provisions of the GST Act cannot deny the business guarantee given to citizens by the Constitution. The bench agreed, noting that denying re-registration to Deokar would not benefit the State government in terms of revenue and defeat the purpose of implementing GST.