Cancel your GST:  If a business is not operating or has insufficient revenue, it is possible to voluntarily cancel its GST registration. A GST officer may also cancel a business’s GST registration if it fails to comply with the law. The person or entity is no longer required to file GST returns, pay GST, or collect GST after their GST registration is cancelled.

GST Cancellation on Your Own

A cancellation request in Form GST REG-16 must be sent to the GST Department by an individual or entity having a GST registration in order to cancel it. If the GST Officer is satisfied with the application after reviewing it, he or she will issue an order in Form GST REG-19 terminating the GST registration.

The following are some of the top reasons for voluntary GST registration cancellation:

• Discontinuance or closure of a business.
• Transfer of business, amalgamation, merger, de-merger, lease, or other pertinent reasons.
• Change in the constitution of business which results in a change of PAN.
• Turnover reduces below the threshold limit of GST registration.
• Death of the sole proprietor.

When a business owner voluntarily cancels their GST registration, they can avoid the needless hassles of having to file monthly GST returns and pay penalties or late filing fees.

Read also: GST Suspension reasons: How to activate the GST Registration suspended

GST Officer’s cancellation

If an officer has a valid reason to do so, they may start the process of cancelling a GST registration under GST. A show-cause notice in Form GST REG-17 will be sent out as the first step in the GST Cancellation by Officer process.

A GST officer can start the cancellation process if any of the following events occur.

• If a taxpayer has failed to file GST returns continuously.
• An assessee registered for GST voluntarily but did not start a business within six months.
• The registered taxpayer has broken one or more sections of the GST Act or its Rules.
• The GST registration is obtained through deception or malicious misrepresentation.
• To dodge tax or improperly claim the input tax credit, a taxpayer supplies goods or services without an invoice or produces an invoice without a provision of goods or services.

The taxpayer whose GST registration is subject to termination prior to cancellation will be notified by the GST Officer in the event of cancellation. After that, the taxpayer would have a fair chance to be heard before their GST registration was cancelled.

The GST Officer will provide the taxpayer with a notice on Form GST REG-17 that includes detailed explanations for why the GST registration ought to be cancelled. If a hearing is planned, the notice would also give the taxpayer an opportunity to reply and provide a time and date for the hearing.

The appropriate authority may dismiss the case and issue an order in Form GST REG-20 if the taxpayer replies to the notice and the authority is satisfied with the response. He has the option to cancel the GST registration with a Form GST REG-19 order if he is not satisfied.

Procedure for GST Registration Cancellation

All past-due GST returns must be filed by the taxpayer before the procedure can start. Before the GST cancellation procedure can start, the GSTR-3B, GSTR-1, or GST annual return non-compliance must be corrected and filed.

Step 1: GST cancellation application is submitted using Form GST REG-16 on the common GST portal. The following information must be included in the GST cancellation application.

• Contact address, which includes the mobile number and e-mail address.
• Reason for cancellation.
• The desired date of cancellation.
• Particulars of the value and the tax payable on the stock of inputs, the inputs available in semi-finished goods, inputs available in finished goods, and the stock of capital goods/plant and machinery.
• Particulars of the latest GST return are filed by the taxpayer along with the ARN of the particular return.

Step 2: Within 30 days of the application date, the GST Officer must review the application and issue an order cancellation in the Form GST REG-19. The Officer will notify the taxable individual of the cancellation, which will take effect on a date of his choosing.

Final Return

Following the cancellation of their GST registration, the individual or organization has three months from the cancellation date—or the date of the cancellation order, whichever comes first—to file their final GST return on Form GSTR-10.

The purpose of this is to ensure that the taxpayer does not owe any GST. Distributors of input services and non-resident taxpayers required to pay tax under Sections 10, 51, or 52 are exempt from this provision.

The taxpayer will receive a notice in Form GSTR-3A requiring them to file the final GST return within 15 days of the notice’s issuance if it is not filed in Form GSTR-10.

If the taxpayer ignores the notice, steps will be made to determine the taxpayer’s liability using the facts available to the concerned Officer. The assessment order will be cancelled if the applicant files the return within 30 days of receiving the notice.