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SAUMITRA DAYAL SINGH, RAM MANOHAR NARAYAN MISHRA
Zest Inc – Appellant
Versus
Union of India – Respondent
JUDGMENT
Heard Shri Shubham Agrawal, learned counsel for the petitioner and Shri Amit Mahajan, learned counsel for the Revenue.
2. Present writ petition has been filed to challenge the orders dated 19.8.2021 and 13.9.2021, whereby, the petitioner's refund applications dated 31.3.2021 and 21.6.2021 (for the period April, 2018 to March, 2019) and refund application dated 30.6.2021 and 24.7.2021 (for the tax period April, 2019 to June, 2019) have been rejected. Thus, the refund claimed Rs.18,60,677/- and Rs.5,04,459/- has been declined for reason of delay.
3. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and having perused the record, undoubtedly the claim for refund should have been made by the petitioner within two years from the relevant date i.e. date of export. The export having been made during the years 2018 and 2019, the refund applications should have been filed by 2020 and 2021. At the same time, it cannot be lost sight that owing to spread of Pandemic Covid-19, first upon orders passed by the Supreme Court, in Public Interest Litigation and then in terms of the Government Notification No.13 of 2022, dated 5th July, 2022, the limitation for the duration 15.2.2020 to 28.2.2022
Limitations for refund claims under the Goods and Services Tax Act can be suspended due to exceptional circumstances such as a pandemic, making rejection solely on delay unsustainable.
The central legal point established in the judgment is that the exclusion of a specific period for filing refund applications under the CGST Act can impact the determination of whether an application....
The court established that the extension of the limitation period for GST refund applications due to COVID-19 applies retroactively to claims made during that period.
The court established that the limitation period for refund applications under the CGST Act is determined by the original filing date, not subsequent deficiencies.
Public authorities must provide an opportunity to explain delays in tax refund claims before rejecting them as time barred.
The court emphasized the need for considering the petitioner's claim for condonation of delay and directed the matter to be reconsidered in light of the notification excluding the period for calculat....
Violation of principles of natural justice in rejecting the refund application warrants reconsideration of the application.
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