Section 29 - Cancellation or suspension of registration
Chapter VI - Registration
ACTIVEOFFICIAL_TEXT_CAPTUREDindex,follow
Source control: The text/status on this page is tied to the official source gateway and the Phase 1 legal-review register.
Open official source.
Finin2min Summary - Section in 2 Minutes
Governs cancellation/suspension, grounds,
retrospective dates, hearing rights and stock/
capital-goods payment on exit.
Taxpayer application and officer-initiated
cancellation are separate routes.
Suspension may operate during
proceedings.
Non-filing, fraud, non-commencement and
rule contraventions are grounds.
Past liabilities survive cancellation.
Closing stock/capital goods trigger ITC/
output-tax comparison.
Exact operative text
29. Cancellation or suspension of registration.-(1) The proper officer may, either on his own motion or on an application filed
by the registered person or by his legal heirs, in case of death of such person, cancel the registration, in such manner and within
such period as may be prescribed, having regard to the circumstances where,-
(a) the business has been discontinued, transferred fully for any reason including death of the proprietor, amalgamated with
other legal entity, demerged or otherwise disposed of; or
(b) there is any change in the constitution of the business; or
(c) the taxable person is no longer liable to be registered under section 22 or section 24 or intends to optout of the registration
voluntarily made under sub-section
(3) of section 25:
Provided that during pendency of the proceedings relating to cancellation of registration filed by the registered person, the
registration may be suspended for such period and in such manner as may be prescribed.
(2) The proper officer may cancel the registration of a person from such date, including any retrospective date, as he may deem
fit, where,-
(a) a registered person has contravened such provisions of the Act or the rules made thereunder as may be prescribed; or
(b) a person paying tax under section 10 has not furnished the return for a financial year beyond three months from the due
date of furnishing the said return; or
(c) any registered person, other than a person specified in clause
(b), has not furnished returns for such continuous tax period as may be prescribed; or
(d) any person who has taken voluntary registration under sub-section
(3) of section 25 has not commenced business within six months from the date of registration; or
(e) registration has been obtained by means of fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts:
Provided that the proper officer shall not cancel the registration without giving the person an opportunity of being heard:
Provided further that during pendency of the proceedings relating to cancellation of registration, the proper officer may
suspend the registration for such period and in such manner as may be prescribed.
(3) The cancellation of registration under this section shall not affect the liability of the person to pay tax and other dues under
this Act or to discharge any obligation under this Act or the rules made thereunder for any period prior to the date of
cancellation whether or not such tax and other dues are determined before or after the date of cancellation.
(4) The cancellation of registration under the State Goods and Services Tax Act or the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax
Act, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be a cancellation of registration under this Act.
(5) Every registered person whose registration is cancelled shall pay an amount, by way of debit in the electronic credit ledger
or electronic cash ledger, equivalent to the credit of input tax in respect of inputs held in stock and inputs contained in semi-
finished or finished goods held in stock or capital goods or plant and machinery on the day immediately preceding the date of
such cancellation or the output tax payable on such goods, whichever is higher, calculated in such manner as may be
prescribed:
Provided that in case of capital goods or plant and machinery, the taxable person shall pay an amount equal to the input tax
credit taken on the said capital goods or plant and machinery, reduced by such percentage points as may be prescribed or the
tax on the transaction value of such capital goods or plant and machinery under section 15, whichever is higher.
(6) The amount payable under sub-section
(5) shall be calculated in such manner as may be prescribed.
Paragraph-wise decode
Governs cancellation/suspension, grounds, retrospective dates, hearing rights and stock/ capital-goods payment on exit. Taxpayer application and officer-initiated cancellation are separate routes. Suspension may operate during proceedings. Non-filing, fraud, non-commencement and rule contraventions are grounds. Past liabilities survive cancellation. Closing stock/capital goods trigger ITC/ output-tax comparison.
Section-Rule-Form-Notification bridge
The mapping is a legal concordance, not a round-robin related-link list. It is limited to instruments certified in this phase.
Practical example
A business closes with taxable stock on hand. Cancellation does not erase prior liabilities and a section 29(5) payment must be calculated. PROFESSIONAL ALERT Retrospective cancellation affects invoices and recipients; examine proportionality and hearing record.
Professional alert
Confirm the transaction-date amendment and commencement position before reliance.
Implementation checklist
- Fix the transaction, taxable period and jurisdiction.
- Read every subsection, proviso, explanation and omission marker.
- Open the mapped Rule, form, notification and circular.
- Test State/UT variation and portal version.
- Preserve evidence, approvals, working papers and acknowledgements.
- Record the conclusion, assumptions, source date and reviewer.
Evidence and retention checklist
- Contract, purchase order, invoice or underlying transaction document.
- Registration, return, ledger, challan and portal acknowledgement.
- Official Act/Rule/notification version used and effective date.
- Internal tax position paper, computation and management approval.
- Correspondence, notices, replies, orders and appeal papers where applicable.
Practical Q&A
- What does section 29 regulate?
- It regulates cancellation or suspension of registration. Read the exact text, conditions, exceptions and transaction date together.
- Which subordinate law should be checked?
- Rule 23, Rule 24, Rule 25. Notifications, circulars, forms and the corresponding SGST/UTGST layer may also apply.
- What evidence should be retained?
- Preserve the contract or transaction record, invoice or form, portal acknowledgement, payment/ledger evidence, correspondence, legal working and the official source version used.
- Can portal behaviour override the statute?
- No. Portal functionality is operational evidence; legal entitlement and liability remain controlled by the Act, Rules, notifications and binding decisions.