Aculife Healthcare Private Limited Vs Union of India (Gujarat High Court)
The petitioner, a healthcare company engaged in the export of medicaments, filed a writ petition under Article 227 of the Constitution before the Gujarat High Court challenging the applicability of Sub-Rule (10) of Rule 96 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Rules, 2017. The petition sought a declaration that the rule was ultra vires Section 16 of the IGST Act, Section 164 of the CGST Act, and Articles 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution. The petitioner also requested the Court to set aside the order-in-appeal issued by the Additional Commissioner (Appeals), Ahmedabad, dated 23.12.2024, which had upheld a part of the tax demand along with interest and penalty. Interim relief was also sought to restrain coercive recovery actions pending the petition’s disposal.
The case arose from exports made between 1 July 2017 and 12 April 2019, on which the petitioner had paid Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) and subsequently claimed refunds under Section 16 of the IGST Act. The dispute began when the petitioner received a show-cause notice dated 28 April 2023, alleging that it had procured inputs under the Advance Authorization Scheme on a duty-free basis and had thus violated Sub-Rule (10) of Rule 96 of the CGST Rules by exporting goods on payment of IGST. The authorities argued that the refund sanctioned earlier was contrary to the provisions of Rule 96(10), which prohibited refund of IGST in cases where inputs were procured without payment of duty.
