GST Revocation

It's the process of reversing a department-initiated cancellation of your GSTIN by applying in form REG-21, after filing pending returns and clearing dues.

Ninety days from the date of service of the cancellation order, under Rule 23(1), and the first proviso allows the Commissioner or an authorised Additional or Joint Commissioner to extend that by a further period not exceeding one hundred and eighty days for reasons recorded in writing — so up to 270 days in total, with the extension at the officer's discretion rather than yours. The ninety-day window replaced the old thirty-day one with effect from 1 October 2023, substituted by Notification 38/2023-Central Tax. A great deal of published guidance, and some of CBIC's own page annotation, still carries the older or a differently dated figure; the instrument governs. We confirm your exact service date, because the clock runs from service of the order and not from the day you noticed.

Not necessarily, and this is the strongest reason to revoke rather than re-register. Section 16(6) provides that where registration is cancelled under section 29 and the cancellation is subsequently revoked — under section 30, or by order of the Appellate Authority, the Appellate Tribunal or a court — credit on an invoice or debit note that was not already barred by section 16(4) on the date of the cancellation order may still be taken in a section 39 return. Either by the ordinary limit (30 November following the financial year, or the annual return, whichever is earlier), or, for the period from the cancellation to the revocation order, in a return filed within thirty days of the revocation order — whichever of those is later. Start a fresh registration instead and none of that is available.

No. Revocation applies only to officer-initiated cancellations. If you cancelled voluntarily, you'd apply for a fresh registration.

Yes. Revocation requires that all overdue returns are filed and the related tax, interest and late fees are paid before the application is accepted.

Successful revocation restores your original GSTIN, preserving continuity with customers and your ITC chain.

Yes — typically for missing the window, unfiled returns, unpaid dues or an inadequate reason. We make sure the pre-conditions are met before applying.

First we check whether the extension under the first proviso to Rule 23(1) is still available — up to 180 further days beyond the ninety, granted by the Commissioner or an authorised Additional or Joint Commissioner for reasons recorded in writing. That is a real route and it is frequently overlooked because people assume the ninety days is absolute. If the whole 270 days has run, the practical answer is a fresh GST registration, which we can handle — but you should know what that costs you: a new GSTIN to re-paper with every customer and marketplace, and the loss of the section 16(6) credit protection that only attaches to a revoked cancellation.

They depend on how many returns are overdue. For each GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B: ₹50 per day combined CGST and SGST, ₹20 per day for a nil return, with the total for each return capped at ₹500 (nil), ₹2,000 (turnover up to ₹1.5 crore), ₹5,000 (₹1.5 crore to ₹5 crore) or ₹10,000 above ₹5 crore. On top of that, 18% per annum interest under section 50(1) on any tax paid late, which is not capped. Because the fee is capped per return, a long backlog costs far less in fees than a naive per-day multiplication suggests — and far more in interest. We compute the exact figure upfront rather than after you have committed. The GST late fee calculator gives you a first estimate.

Yes, and it is much cheaper. While the proceeding is still at the REG-17 show-cause stage, the proviso to Rule 22(4) requires that where a person served with a show cause instead furnishes all pending returns and pays the tax due with interest and late fee, the proper officer shall drop the proceedings and pass an order in FORM GST REG-20. That is mandatory language, not discretion. You get seven working days to reply in FORM REG-18 under Rule 22(1), which is a short clock — so a REG-17 in your inbox is urgent in a way a REG-19 order is not. That work is handled as a GST notice reply.

No. Rule 21A(3) provides that a registered person whose registration is suspended shall not make any taxable supply during the period of suspension, and need not furnish returns for it. In practice that bites long before any penalty does — you cannot issue a valid tax invoice, your buyers get no credit, and e-way bill generation typically stops. It is the reason revocation timelines matter commercially rather than just procedurally.

No. Restoration rests with the department. We ensure every pre-condition is met and the application is complete to maximise the chance.

Share your REG-19 cancellation order and pending-return details — we'll confirm the window and begin immediately.