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Table of Contents
File No. CBIC-20006/17/2021-GST
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
GST Policy Wing
*****
New Delhi, dated the 6th September, 2021
Circular No. 158/14/2021 - GST: Clarification regarding extension of time limit to apply for revocation of cancellation of registration in view of Notification No. 34/2021-Central Tax dated 29th August 2021
To,
The Principal Chief Commissioners / Chief Commissioners / Principal Commissioners / Commissioners of Central Tax (All)
The Principal Directors General / Directors General (All)
Madam/Sir,
Subject: Clarification regarding extension of time limit to apply for revocation of cancellation of registration in view of Notification No. 34/2021-Central Tax dated 29th August, 2021 - Reg.
Vide Circular No. 148/04/2021-GST, dated 18th May, 2021, detailed guidelines for implementation of the provision of extension of time limit to apply for revocation of cancellation of registration under section 30 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as "the CGST Act / said Act") and rule 23 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as "the CGST Rules") have been specified, till the time an independent functionality for extension of time limit for applying in FORM GST REG-21 is developed on the GSTN portal.
It may be noted that notification No.14/2021-Central Tax, dated 1st May, 2021, as amended, had, inter-alia, extended the date of filing of application for revocation of cancellation of registration till 30th June, 2021, where the due date of filing of application was falling between 15th April, 2021 to 29th June, 2021. Government has now issued notification No. 34/2021-Central Tax dated 29th August, 2021 (hereinafter referred to as "the said notification")
under section 168A of the said Act to extend the timelines for filing of application for revocation of cancellation of registration to 30th September, 2021, where the due date of filing of application for revocation of cancellation of registration falls between 1st March, 2020 to 31st August, 2021. This extension is applicable for those cases where registrations have been cancelled under clause (b) or clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 29 of the said Act.
2. In order to ensure uniformity in the implementation of the said notification across field formations, the Board, in exercise of its powers conferred by section 168(1) of the said Act, hereby clarifies the issues relating to the extension of timelines for application for revocation of cancellation of registration as under:
3. Applications covered under the scope of the said notification
3.1 The said notification specifies that where the due date of filing of application for revocation of cancellation of registration falls between 1st March, 2020 to 31st August, 2021, the time limit for filing of application for revocation of cancellation of registration is extended to 30th September, 2021. Accordingly, it is clarified that the benefit of said notification is extended to all the cases where cancellation of registration has been done under clause (b) or clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 29 of the CGST Act, 2017 and where the due date of filing of application for revocation of cancellation of registration falls between 1st March, 2024 to 31st August, 2021.
It is further clarified that the benefit of notification would be applicable in those cases also where the application for revocation of cancellation of registration is either pending with the proper officer or has already been rejected by the proper officer. It is further clarified that the benefit of notification would also be available in those cases which are pending with the appellate authority or which have been rejected by the appellate authority.
+In other words, the date for filing application for revocation of cancellation of registration in all cases, where registration has been cancelled under clause (b) or clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 29 of CGST Act, 2017 and where the due date of filing of application for revocation of cancellation of registration falls between 1st March, 2020 to 31st August, 2021, is extended to 30th September, 2021, irrespective of the status of such applications. As explained in this para, the said notification would be applicable in the following manner:
(i) application for revocation of cancellation of registration has not been filed by the taxpayer-
In such cases, the applications for revocation can be filed upto the extended timelines as provided vide the said notification. Such cases also cover those instances where an appeal was filed against order of cancellation of registration and the appeal had been rejected.
(ii) application for revocation of cancellation of registration has already been filed and which are pending with the proper officer-
In such cases, the officer shall process the application for revocation considering the extended timelines as provided vide the said notification.
(iii) application for revocation of cancellation of registration was filed, but was rejected by the proper officer and taxpayer has not filed any appeal against the rejection -
In such cases, taxpayer may file a fresh application for revocation and the officer shall process the application for revocation considering the extended timelines as provided vide the said notification.
(iv) Application for revocation of cancellation of registration was filed, the proper officer rejected the application and appeal against the rejection order is pending before appellate authority-
In such cases, appellate authorities shall take the cognizance of the said notification for extension of timelines while deciding the appeal.
(v) Application for revocation of cancellation of registration was filed, the proper officer rejected the application and the appeal has been decided against the taxpayer-
In such cases, taxpayer may file a fresh application for revocation and the officer shall process the application for revocation considering the extended timelines as provided vide the said notification.
4. It may be recalled that, with effect from 01.01.2021, proviso to sub-section (1) of section 30 of the CGST Act has been inserted which provides for extension of time for filing application for revocation of cancellation of registration by 30 days by Additional/ Joint Commissioner and by another 30 days by the Commissioner.
Doubts have been raised whether the said notification has extended the due date in respect of initial period of 30 days for filing the application (in cases where registration has been cancelled under clause (b) or clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 29 of CGST Act, 2017) under sub-section (1) of section 30 of the CGST Act or whether the due date of filing applications for revocation of registration can be extended further for the period of 60 days (30 + 30) by the Joint Commissioner/ Additional Commissioner/ Commissioner, as the case may be, beyond the extended date of 30.09.2021. It is clarified that:
- where the thirty days’ time limit falls between 1st March, 2020 to 31st December, 2020, there is no provision available to extend the said time period of 30 days under section 30 of the CGST Act. For such cases, pursuant to the said notification, the time limit to apply for revocation of cancellation of registration stands extended up to 30th September, 2021 only; and
- where the time period of thirty days since cancellation of registration has not lapsed as on 1st January, 2021 or where the registration has been cancelled on or after 1st January, 2021, the time limit for applying for revocation of cancellation of registration shall stand extended as follows:
- Where the time period of 90 days (initial 30 days and extension of 30 + 30 days) since cancellation of registration has elapsed by 31.08.2021, the time limit to apply for revocation of cancellation of registration stands extended upto 30th September 2021, without any further extension of time by Joint Commissioner/ Additional Commissioner/ Commissioner.
- Where the time period of 60 days (and not 90 days) since cancellation of registration has elapsed by 31.08.2021, the time limit to apply for revocation of cancellation of registration stands extended upto 30th September 2021, with the extension of timelines by another 30 days beyond 30.09.2021 by the Commissioner, on being satisfied, as per proviso to sub-section (1) of section 30 of the CGST Act
- Where the time period of 30 days (and not 60 days or 90 days) since cancellation of registration has elapsed by 31.08.2021, the time limit to apply for revocation of cancellation of registration stands extended upto 30th September 2021, with the extension of timelines by another 30 days beyond 30.09.2021 by the Joint/ Additional Commissioner and another 30 days by the Commissioner, on being satisfied, as per proviso to sub-section (1) of section 30 of the CGST Act.
5. It is requested that suitable trade notices may be issued to publicize the contents of this circular.
6. Difficulty, if any, in the implementation of the above circular may please be brought to the notice of the Board (gst-cbec@gov.in). Hindi version would follow.
(Sanjay Mangal)
Principal Commissioner
📚 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Circular No. 158/14/2021 - GST
Q1: What is Circular No. 158/14/2021-GST about?
Answer: Circular No. 158/14/2021-GST clarifies the extension of time for applying for revocation of cancellation of GST registration.
It was issued on 6 September 2021 in connection with Notification No. 34/2021-Central Tax dated 29 August 2021. The circular explains which cancelled registrations were covered, how the extended deadline of 30 September 2021 applied, and how different application and appeal statuses were to be handled.
Q2: What was the extended deadline for applying for revocation?
Answer: For the specified cases covered by the notification, the deadline was extended up to 30 September 2021.
The extension applied where the due date for filing the revocation application fell between 1 March 2020 and 31 August 2021. The cancellation also had to fall under Section 29(2)(b) or Section 29(2)(c) of the CGST Act. The circular clarified that this benefit applied irrespective of the status of the application.
Q3: Which GST cancellations were covered by the circular?
Answer: The circular covered cancellations under Section 29(2)(b) or Section 29(2)(c) of the CGST Act where the revocation deadline fell between 1 March 2020 and 31 August 2021.
The circular specifically clarified that the benefit was available across different procedural stages, including cases where the taxpayer had not applied, the application was pending, the application had been rejected, or an appeal was pending or had already been decided against the taxpayer.
Q4: What if I had not filed the revocation application?
Answer: A taxpayer covered by the notification could file the revocation application within the extended timeline.
The circular specifically states that cases where the application had not been filed were covered. It also included cases where an appeal against the cancellation order had been filed but rejected. In the specified cases, the extended timeline allowed the taxpayer to apply up to 30 September 2021.
Q5: What if my revocation application was already pending?
Answer: The proper officer was required to process the pending application while considering the extended timeline.
The circular specifically covers applications already filed and pending before the proper officer. Therefore, the extension was not limited to taxpayers who had not yet filed an application. The officer was required to consider the extended timeline provided through the notification while processing the pending revocation application.
Q6: What if my revocation application was rejected?
Answer: In specified cases, a fresh revocation application could be filed.
Where the proper officer had rejected the revocation application and the taxpayer had not filed an appeal against that rejection, the circular permitted the taxpayer to file a fresh application. The proper officer was then required to process it considering the extended timeline under the notification. This was specifically clarified in paragraph 3.1(iii) of the circular.
Q7: What if my appeal against rejection was pending?
Answer: The appellate authority was required to consider the notification's extension while deciding the appeal.
If the proper officer had rejected the revocation application and the taxpayer's appeal against that rejection was pending before the appellate authority, the circular directed the appellate authority to take the extended timeline into consideration while deciding the appeal.
Q8: What if my appeal was already rejected?
Answer: In the specified cases, the taxpayer could file a fresh application for revocation.
The circular states that where the proper officer rejected the revocation application and the appeal was also decided against the taxpayer, the taxpayer could submit a fresh revocation application. The proper officer was required to process the fresh application while considering the extended timeline provided by the notification.
Q9: Could the 30 + 30 day extension under Section 30 continue beyond 30 September 2021?
Answer: It depended on how much of the statutory period had elapsed by 31 August 2021.
Where 90 days had already elapsed, no further extension was available beyond 30 September 2021. Where 60 days had elapsed, the Commissioner could provide another 30 days. Where only 30 days had elapsed, another 30 days could be provided by the Joint/Additional Commissioner and another 30 days by the Commissioner, subject to the statutory conditions.
Q10: What happened where the initial 30 days fell between 1 March 2020 and 31 December 2020?
Answer: The deadline was extended only up to 30 September 2021 under the notification.
The circular clarified that, for such cases, there was no provision under Section 30 to extend the initial 30-day period because the additional extension mechanism had not yet been introduced for that period. Accordingly, the notification extended the time to apply for revocation up to 30 September 2021 only.
Q11: If 60 days had elapsed by 31 August 2021, what was the position?
Answer: The deadline was extended to 30 September 2021, with a possible further 30-day extension by the Commissioner.
The circular specifically states that where 60 days, but not 90 days, had elapsed by 31 August 2021, the taxpayer received the extension up to 30 September 2021. Beyond that date, the Commissioner could provide another 30 days if satisfied in accordance with the proviso to Section 30(1) of the CGST Act.
Q12: If only 30 days had elapsed by 31 August 2021, what was the position?
Answer: The deadline was extended to 30 September 2021, with the possibility of the additional 30 + 30 day statutory extensions.
Where only the initial 30 days had elapsed by 31 August 2021, the circular provided for extension up to 30 September 2021. After that, another 30 days could be granted by the Joint/Additional Commissioner and another 30 days by the Commissioner, subject to satisfaction of the conditions prescribed under Section 30(1).
Download PDF: Circular No. 158/14/2021 - GST
More Information: https://taxinformation.cbic.gov.in/
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