2020 (11) TMI 42 - Commissioner - GST

Refund claim of accumulated ITC - rejected on the ground that the appellant had generated ARN for NIL amount, as such no amount had been Debited from their Electronic Credit Ledger, whereas the appellant was required to Debit the amount of refund being claimed as per Rule 89(3) of the CGST Rules, 2017 - HELD THAT - The appellant was unable to Debit their ITC Ledger through FORM GST DRC-03 because of error in system, GST common portal did not allow to Debit the amount from their available balance in ITC ledger and for this they have made several complaints at various appropriate platforms i.e. help desk, vide Ticket No. 201908196732382, 201908276814243 201909026862788 and also filed the complaint to adjudicating authority and also O/o the Principal Commissioner, CGST but no solution were found. The appellant vide letter dated 20-11-2019 and on 9-1-2020 at the time of personal hearing has also submitted a letter Ref No. SSC/GST(Appeal)/019/19-20, dated 9-1-2020 stated therein that GST common portal has been rectified and they have filed FORM GST DRC-03 and Debited their electronic ledger by ₹ 23,60,340/- (IGST ₹ 10,10,890/-. CGST ₹ 6,74,725/- and SGST ₹ 6,74,725/-) vide ARN AD081119002254F, dated 20-11-2019 and submitted the copy of Form GST DRC-03 and the appellant also requested to send back the claim to the adjudicating authority for further process. The appeal is disposed off with the direction that the appellant to submit FORM GST DRC-03 and other related documents before the adjudicating authority in order to verify the same and process the refund claim as per provisions of Section 54 of the CGST Act, 2017 and rules made thereunder.

Summary

Issues:
Refund claim rejection due to error in GST common portal and inability to debit ITC ledger.

Analysis:
The appeal was filed against the rejection of a refund claim under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017. The appellant, engaged in the export business of stone products, had applied for a refund of accumulated ITC for the period December 2017 to March 2018. The adjudicating authority rejected the refund claim of ?23,60,340 on the grounds that the appellant had generated an ARN for a NIL amount, which resulted in no debit from their Electronic Credit Ledger, as required by Rule 89(3) of the CGST Rules, 2017.

The appellant contended that the rejection was due to an error in the GST common portal, which prevented them from debiting the ITC ledger through Form GST DRC-03. Despite efforts to rectify the mistake and complaints to various platforms, including the help desk and the adjudicating authority, no solution was found. The appellant later informed that the GST common portal had been rectified, and they had successfully debited the amount from their electronic ledger, requesting the refund claim to be processed.

After a personal hearing, where the appellant provided written submissions and evidence of debiting the amount, the Additional Commissioner found merit in the appellant's arguments. Acknowledging the technical difficulties faced by the appellant in debiting the ITC ledger, the Commissioner directed the appellant to submit Form GST DRC-03 and related documents to the adjudicating authority for verification and further processing of the refund claim in accordance with the provisions of the CGST Act, 2017.

In conclusion, the appeal was disposed of with the direction to process the refund claim upon submission of the necessary documents, recognizing the appellant's efforts to rectify the error and comply with the legal requirements for refund sanction.