Tax Talks: Is your GST registration/GSTIN suspended? Know what’s next

Recently, we have been receiving a lot of queries from our readers about the facility of initiating drop proceedings to restore suspended GSTINs. Here’re a few of the replies collated for you.

A tax professional: One of my client’s GST registration/GSTIN was suspended in August 2022. We have filed GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for August 2022, but this facility is currently unavailable. Please help us

OR

A finance professional: Has this facility started? As our GST number is suspended and I am unable to revoke it.

Any suspended GST registration, in other words, suspended GST Identification Number (GSTIN) must be restored or revoked, must happen automatically on the GST portal once the taxpayer files the pending GST returns. Yet, sometimes, it does not get restored. In such an event, the government decided to allow taxpayers, on a suo moto basis, to restore or revoke the suspension of GST registration or GSTIN by “initiating drop proceedings” or “automated drop proceedings” “upon filing their pending GST returns.

This facility for initiating drop proceedings on the suspended GSTINs can be used only where the GST registration had gotten suspended on or after 1st December 2022.

Such taxpayers can use the facility from December 2022 onwards. However, it was not available for a brief period in December but was reinstated later. Only some taxpayers can avail of this facility. Taxpayers who have filed their pending six monthly (for monthly filers) or two quarterly returns (for quarterly filers) can initiate drop proceedings for revoking the suspension of their GST registration.

Hence, if the GST registration got suspended due to the non-filing of returns before 1st December 2022, this process cannot restore such a suspended GSTIN. Such taxpayers will have to get their suspended/cancelled GST registration revoked by approaching their respective jurisdictional tax officer as they must drop proceedings.

Suppose the taxpayer has filed all the pending returns. However, the time to reply to the show cause notice to cancel GST registration is over. In that case, the taxpayer must contact their respective jurisdictional tax officer for further steps.

A finance professional: We need guidance on the suspended GST to activate. Kindly guide us with a step-wise process so that we can get our GST registration restored.

Suppose the taxpayers’ GSTIN is suspended due to non-filing of returns. They must first file all the pending GST returns of the past 6 months/2 quarters, as the case may be. After that, one of the following takes place-

• The GST portal automatically drops the proceedings within 15 minutes and revokes the suspension

OR

• If the GSTIN status does not automatically turn ‘Active’, then use the ‘Initiate drop proceedings’ facility.

The taxpayers can use the facility on the below path-

Step 1: Log in to the GST Portal.

Step 2: Go to ‘Services’> Select ‘User Services’. 

Step 3: Click on ‘View Notices and Orders’> Click on the ‘Initiate Drop Proceeding’ button as shown below-

Step 4: A message will be displayed for automatically initiating drop proceedings, as shown below-

For any clarifications/feedback on the topic, please contact the writer at annapoorna.m@clear.in