2024 (7) TMI 1204 - HC - GST

Refund claim - time limitation - sole objection of respondent is that the petitioner has not preferred appeal against the impugned order - HELD THAT - The case of petitioner is squarely covered by recommendations of GST Council. The respondent is not disputing applicability of aforesaid recommendations of GST Council to case in hand. As soon as period from March 2020 to February 2022 is excluded from limitation period prescribed for filing refund claim, the application dated 29.09.2020 filed by petitioner becomes within limitation period as prescribed under Section 53 (3) of the CGST Act. The impugned order set aside - the present petition deserves to be allowed and accordingly allowed.

Summary

Issues:
1. Revision of order dated 23.11.2020 passed by the Assistant Commissioner by the Revisionary Authority.
2. Time-barred refund claim for the period from April 2018 to August 2018.
3. Applicability of Supreme Court orders on limitation period extension due to Covid-19.
4. Interpretation of Circular dated 20.07.2021 issued by the Board.
5. Recommendations of the GST Council regarding the exclusion of certain periods from the limitation period for filing refund claims.

Analysis:
1. The petitioner sought to set aside the order dated 17.11.2021, where the Revisionary Authority revised the Assistant Commissioner's order of 23.11.2020 regarding a refund claim under the Inverted Duty Structure.
2. The Revisionary Authority found the refund claim for April 2018 to August 2018 time-barred, leading to the recovery of an excess refund amount and imposition of a penalty.
3. The petitioner argued that the Supreme Court's extension of limitation period due to Covid-19 applied to their case, but the Revisionary Authority disagreed, leading to the revision of the refund order.
4. The interpretation of the Circular dated 20.07.2021 was crucial, as it clarified the applicability of Supreme Court orders on proceedings under the CGST Act, particularly refund applications.
5. The GST Council's recommendations to exclude certain periods from the limitation period for filing refund claims were pivotal in resolving the issue of time-barred refund claims. The exclusion of specific periods made the petitioner's refund application fall within the prescribed limitation period, leading to the allowance of the petition and setting aside of the impugned order.