How to Check GST Cancellation Status — and Revoke a Cancelled GST Registration (2026)
You can check whether a GST registration has been cancelled in under a minute on the GST portal, without logging in: Search Taxpayer → Search by GSTIN/UIN shows the registration’s status and, if it is cancelled, the effective date of cancellation. What you do next depends on who cancelled it and when, because the window to get it restored is fixed by law.
Three ways to check GST cancellation status
| You want to know | Where to look | Login needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Is this GSTIN active or cancelled? (yours, a supplier’s or a customer’s) | gst.gov.in → Search Taxpayer → Search by GSTIN/UIN | No |
| Where is the cancellation application you filed? | Services → Registration → Track Application Status, using the ARN of your REG-16 application | No (ARN is enough) |
| Has the officer issued a notice or a cancellation order against you? | Services → User Services → View Notices and Orders | Yes |
1. Search by GSTIN
Enter the 15-digit GSTIN and the captcha. The result shows the legal name, the status — Active, Suspended or Cancelled — and, for a cancelled number, the effective date of cancellation. Use this before you pay a new supplier: tax charged on an invoice from a cancelled GSTIN will not show in your GSTR-2B, and you cannot claim the input tax credit.
2. Track your own cancellation application
If you applied to surrender your registration in Form GST REG-16, use Track Application Status with the ARN you received by SMS and email. The status moves from pending, to pending for clarification if the officer has a query, to approved or rejected. Once approved, the cancellation order (REG-19) can be downloaded — see how to download the GST cancellation certificate.
3. Check notices and orders after logging in
If you did not apply but suspect the department has acted, log in and open View Notices and Orders. Look for a show-cause notice in REG-17 (or REG-31 if the registration was suspended), and a cancellation order in REG-19. The date of the REG-19 order is the date your deadlines run from.
What the status means for you
- Suspended — the officer has started cancellation proceedings and stopped you from making taxable supplies under that GSTIN for now. Reply to the notice and clear the defaults; this is the cheapest point to fix it.
- Cancelled on your own application — you surrendered the registration. There is no revocation route; if you restart, you apply for a fresh registration. You still owe the final return in GSTR-10.
- Cancelled by the officer (suo moto) — usually for not filing returns. This can be revoked, but only within the time limits below.
Getting a cancelled registration back: the time limits
Since 1 October 2023 (Rule 23 of the CGST Rules, as amended by Notification No. 38/2023-Central Tax dated 4 August 2023), the application for revocation in Form GST REG-21 must be filed within these windows, counted from the date the cancellation order was served:
| Time since the cancellation order | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Up to 90 days | File REG-21 directly |
| 91 to 270 days | File REG-21 with a request to condone the delay; an Additional or Joint Commissioner (or the Commissioner) can extend the period by up to 180 days if you show sufficient cause |
| After 270 days | REG-21 is no longer available. The remaining routes are an appeal against the cancellation order or, in exceptional cases, a writ petition before the High Court |
Before applying, file every return that was due up to the date of cancellation and pay the tax, interest and late fee. If the officer is satisfied, the registration is restored in Form REG-22; if not, you get a notice in REG-23 and a chance to reply. More on the whole process in our guide to suo moto cancellation of GST registration.
Let us restore it
TAXAJ files revocation of GST cancellation applications and clears the pending GST returns that usually caused the cancellation, so the same GSTIN comes back rather than a new one.
Last updated 15 October 2026. Source: Rule 23, CGST Rules 2017, as amended by Notification No. 38/2023-Central Tax dated 4 August 2023. General information only; check the order served on you for your exact dates.
