2021 (4) TMI 472 - Commissioner - GST

Permission for withdrawal of appeal - Refund of excess GST amount paid - time limitation - rejection on the ground that the refund claim has been filed after the time limit of 2 years - HELD THAT - Personal hearing in virtual mode through video conference was fixed in both the cases for 24.03.2021. Further, the Authorized Signatory and Chief Manager of the appellant Sh. Girish P Lele instead of attending personal hearing has sent a E mail dated 18.03.2021 as well as letter through Speed Post therein he intimated that the appeals are to be treated as withdrawn. The appeals allowed to be withdrawn.

Summary

Issues:
1. Appeal against rejection of refund claims under Section 54 of CGST Act, 2017.
2. Time-barred issue regarding the filing of refund claims.

Analysis:
1. The appeals were filed by M/s Syndicate Bank against the Orders-in-Original rejecting refund claims of ?6,55,787/- and ?15,014/- for the periods of December 2017 and January 2018, respectively. The appellant, engaged in providing banking and financial services, had discharged more GST than payable due to difficulties in assessing exact outward supplies before the stipulated time. The refund claims were filed under Section 54(3) of the CGST Act, 2017.

2. The adjudicating authority rejected both refund claims as time-barred under Section 54 of the CGST Act, 2017, as they were filed after the two-year time limit. The appellant challenged these orders on the grounds that the excess IGST discharged was part of a larger refund claim for March 2018, which was in line with Circulars and Notifications providing for carry-over of excess amounts and technical constraints in the GST portal.

3. The appellant argued that the refund claim for March 2018 was filed within the due date as per relevant Notifications and Circulars. Despite a scheduled personal hearing, the appellant decided to withdraw the appeals through email and letter, stating that they found the refund claims to be incorrect. Consequently, the Commissioner allowed the withdrawal of appeals, leading to the dismissal of both appeals.

This judgment highlights the importance of adhering to statutory time limits for filing refund claims under the CGST Act, 2017, and the significance of complying with procedural requirements despite technical constraints in the GST portal. The withdrawal of appeals by the appellant underscores the need for thorough review and verification of refund claims before initiating legal proceedings.