The Hon’ble Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court consisting of Justice Sonia Gokani and Justice Rajendra M. Sareen passed an order; directing the Revenue Department to issue GST registration to a firm undergoing liquidation and granted exemption concerning actions taken after the 6-month window due to the COVID-19 pandemic since the lock-down had rendered every system inoperable;
The Hon’ble Court remarked that “If the government official appointed by the NCLT gets entangled in the web of proceedings/circulars/clarifications/rules, it leaves much to be desired so far as the common man is concerned.”; authoritatively remarking that “It is not to be forgotten by the respondent authority that the registration under the GST Act is a must for the liquidator to operate and fulfil the obligations in his capacity as a liquidator as required under the statute.”
It slammed the Department for making the Liquidator run from pillar to post and compelling him to move this Court by adopting “…highly technical and deprecated complexity in awarding the GST Registration Number.”
It further stated that “…this non-grant of registration for fulfilling the official duty for the sale of the business of the company-in-liquidation as a going concern/slump sale basis or on standalone basis deserves the indulgence with a specific direction to the highest authority under the GST Regime to stop having hypertechnical approach and instead make it more user friendly”
In addition, the Hon’ble Court noted that the Petitioner had complied with all requirements for providing the required documents and testimonials as an Official Liquidator; the Hon’ble HC asserts that denial of registration based solely on the fact that he hasn’t specified that he’s a liquidator—or, for that matter, a very negligible and minor aspect—deserves the Court’s disapproval and ordered Revenue to grant GST registration.
