Major difficulties faced under GST – Points for Representation -STBA

Sales Tax Bar Association (Regd.), Delhi made a representation to The Principal Chief Commissioner, CGST & Central Excise Delhi highlighting the difficulties faced by the taxpayer under GST. Representation Letter – STBA/2025/10 dated 21.05.2025.

Respected Sir/ Madam,

On behalf of the members of the State Tax Bar Association, Delhi, we respectfully submit the following issues and suggestions for your kind attention and necessary action:

1. Timely Disposal of Cancellation Applications and Prevention of Penal Consequences:
   • Taxpayers are facing significant delays in the processing of GST registration cancellation applications, even though the law prescribes a disposal timeline of 30 days. Additionally in cases where cancellation requests are rejected.
     • Rejections are often made without issuing a clear and reasoned show-cause notice, causing confusion and procedural injustice.
     • Taxpayers are not granted a specific timeline to furnish pending returns, which leads to avoidable penalties and late fees arising due to the delay.
   • Furthermore, at the time of filing cancellation applications, there is no option to upload proof of a future correspondence address. This leads to unnecessary departmental queries and delays, which could be avoided with a provision to submit the required documents upfront.

Suggestions:

• Ensure strict compliance with the 30-day processing timeline for cancellation requests.
• Mandate issuance of properly reasoned show-cause notices in case of proposed rejection.
• In cases where cancellation is rejected, provide a reasonable time window for the taxpayer to file any pending returns to avoid penal consequences.
• Introduce a facility in the cancellation form to upload documentary proof of correspondence address, to avoid repetitive queries and save time for both taxpayers and officers.

2. Delay in Processing Core Field Amendments in Registration

When a taxpayer files an amendment applications in core fields (e.g., legal name, principal place of business, etc.), the system does not allow any further amendment request to the filed until the previous amendment is approval or rejected by the proper officer.

This becomes problematic when:

• • Officers do not take timely action on the pending applications.
  • The taxpayer is left in a standstill situation, unable to made urgent or subsequent changes, leading to procedural and practical difficulties. 

Suggestion: We request that:

• Officers be directed to take action within the prescribed time limit on core amendment applications, ensuring the system does not remain locked unncessarily.
• A mechanism be introduced to track and escalate delayed approvals, or allow submission of subsequent amendment requests conditionally, pending disposal of the earlier one.

3. Immediate Suspension of Registration without opportunity of Clarification. It has been observed in various cases that when a notice is issued by the proper officer, the dealer’s GST registration gets suspended with immediate effect, even before the taxpayer is given a chance to explain or clarify their position

This leads to:

• Disruption in genuine business operations.
• Unwarranted hardship and reputational damage to taxpayers without due process.
• Increased litigation and compliance burdon.

Suggestion:

We urge that a balanced and fair process be adopted wherein:

• The officer should first seek clarification or explanation from the taxpayer.
• A show-case notice should be issued, providing a reasonable opportunity to respond.
• Only after evaluating the purpose, and if found unsatisfactory, should suspension or cancellation of registration be considered.

This approach will uphold the Principles of Natural Justice and reduce unnecessary grievances

4. Widely Spread Jurisdictional CGST Offices Causing Operational Challenges. Currently, CGST Delhi comprises nine jurisdictional departments, along with separate offices for Audit, Anti-Evasion, Vigilance, etc. – all located in different parts of Delhi. This setup results in:

• Difficulty in locating the correct jurisdiction for taxpayers.
• Increased time, cost and travel for professionals dealing with multiple clients.
• Inefficiencies in professional workflow and department interactions.

Suggestion:

We request consolidation of these departments to one or a maximum of two centralzed locations, which would greatly enhance accessibility and reduce the compliance burden.

(Sanjay Sharma)

(President

(M): 9810071545