The petitioner which is stated to be a firm engaged in the business of organizing events, activities, conferences and seminars, is aggrieved by the non extension of the period of registration granted to it by Ext.P1 registration certificate under the GST Act. It is stated that as a casual trader, it had obtained Ext.P1 registration for the period from 25.2.2020 to 31.03.2020, and during the said period, the petitioner had conducted certain events in the course of his business. During the said period, the petitioner had also issued GST invoices to its clients for the services rendered by it to the said clients. It is stated that on account of the Covid-19 pandemic situation, the petitioner firm could not complete the entire work by 31.03.2020 and further, could not apply for an extension of the registration online for another 90 days, since it was not able to access the online portal owing to the expiry of its registration. The limited prayer in the writ petition is for a direction to the respondent to grant a short extension of the registration granted to the petitioner by Ext.P1, for the limited purposes of the petitioner accessing the system to upload its returns and pay tax, as also to avail applicable input tax credit.

2.Through I.A No.1 of 2020 the petitioner has also produced as Ext.P4, a communication issued by the respondents informing it of the inability of the respondent to extend the period of registration granted in Ext.P1. The said communication however, advises the petitioner to file the required returns in respect of the expired registration with the details of the work done up to 31.3.2020. It also advises that the petitioner to make a claim for the un-utilized tax if any deposited in that regard.

3.I have heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and also the learned Standing Counsel appearing for the respondent.

On a consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case as also the submissions made across the Bar, I find from a perusal of Section 27 of the GST Act, that special provisions have been made relating to Casual Taxable Persons as well as non-taxable persons. The registration certificate issued to such Casual Taxable Persons is to be valid for a period specified in the application for registration or 90 days from the effective date of registration, whichever is earlier, and the scheme envisages that such person shall make taxable supplies only after the issuance of the certificate of registration. Through a proviso to the said Section, it is made clear that a proper officer may, on sufficient cause being shown by the said taxable person, extend the said period of 90 days by a further period not exceeding 90 days. In the instant case, the original certificate of registration (Ext.P1) granted to the petitioner was only for a limited period of about 30 days. In other words, the petitioner did not seek a registration for a period which it could have applied for. However, on account of the Covid-19 pandemic situation, the petitioner could not upload the details regarding the invoices issued during the period for which it was granted registration, and in relation to the work that was done during the said period. When it tried to apply for a short extension of the registration so as to complete the process, it was met with a situation where it could not access the online portal because it did not have a valid registration at that time. No doubt, the period of extension permitted under the statute is already over by now, but I am of the view that the petitioner cannot be faulted for his inability to access the system for the purposes of seeking an extension of the registration period. Thus, by excluding the period during which the petitioner could not access the system for extension of his registration, I deem it appropriate to direct the respondent to extend the registration period of the petitioner for a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment, so that the petitioner can, during the said period of two weeks, upload the details of the invoices raised by him as also details of the input tax credit claimed by him under the GST Act. The respondent shall do the needful to facilitate the said exercise by the petitioner within the said period of two weeks as directed above.

This writ petition is disposed as above.