Bombay HC sets aside rejection of refund claims by GST authorities

The Bombay Substantial Court docket has quashed an get by the GST authorities that had rejected the refund claim of an assessee simply because it was submitted after two a long time, a time limit set by the guidelines. This was carried out considering the fact that the authorities have not taken into cognizance the earlier Supreme Court docket verdict that excluded the period of time from March 15, 2020 and October 02, 2021 from the time limit due to Covid.

However, the substantial court docket did not go into the validity of the circular and the problem of hanging it down.

The petitioner worried submitted the very first refund software for the period of time July 2018 to September 2018 on August 21, 2020 online on the GST portal. The claimed software, even so, was rejected by the assistant commissioner of CentralGST (CGST) in Mumbai on September 05, 2020 on the floor that there ended up specified deficiencies in the claimed software.

As these, the petitioner submitted the second refund software on September 08, 2020, but this was also rejected by the assistant commissioner, pointing out deficiency.

Thereafter, the petitioner submitted a third refund software on September thirty, 2020, but that was rejected by the formal talked about over on the floor that the software had surpassed the time of two a long time, set by GST guidelines provided in a circular issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.

Aggrieved petitioner went to the Bombay substantial court docket, looking for to declare a claimed rule of limiting the refund in two a long time as extremely vires the Constitution.

The petitioner also sought quashing and location aside the rejection get and direction to restore the third refund software of the petitioner.

HC observed that it is not in dispute that the very first and second refund programs ended up rejected on the floor of specified deficiencies in those people programs.

The third refund software was demanded to be submitted in two a long time in accordance with the GST guidelines.

However, in this petitioner’s situation, these limitation period of time fell concerning March 15, 2020 and October 02, 2021, a period of time which was excluded by the Supreme Court docket in all proceedings irrespective of the limitation recommended below the standard law or particular law.

Before, the apex court docket in a suo motu writ petition had issued directions that in computing the period of time of limitation in any accommodate, attraction, software and or proceedings, the period of time from March 15, 2020 till October 2, 2021 will stand excluded due to Covid waves.

As these, the substantial court docket dominated that the assistant commissioner, CGST, is demanded to exclude the period of time of limitation falling in the course of the claimed period of time.

It dominated that the third refund software submitted by the petitioner was in the period of time of limitation recommended.

Owing to this, the substantial court docket observed the get by the CGST formal to be opposite to the get handed by the Supreme Court docket.

However, the substantial court docket did not go into the validity of the circular which prescribes the time limit for refund promises, indicating the similar can be considered in the acceptable situation.

Sandeep Sehgal, associate tax at AKM Worldwide, claimed,”The GST division, with no having cognizance of the relaxations readily available therein for the restrictions, rejected the refund software. For this reason, the substantial court docket has rightly dominated in favour of the taxpayer.”