Messrs Meghmani Organochem Limitd & Anr. Vs Union of India & Ors. (Gujarat High Court)
The Gujarat High Court heard a petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India challenging the order dated 30th November 2023 passed by the Additional Commissioner (Appeals), CGST & Central Excise, Vadodara, which had set aside a refund sanction order granted to the petitioner. The petitioner, a company engaged in manufacturing chemical products and operating a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) unit at Dahej, held a Letter of Permission issued on 5th August 2008 and was registered under the CGST, IGST Acts. Being an SEZ unit, the petitioner exported goods without payment of tax under a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) while complying with GST procedures, including maintaining statutory registers such as Electronic Credit Ledger, Electronic Cash Ledger, and filing GSTR-3B returns.
Read SC Judgment: Modest Refund Amount: SC Declines Interference, SEZ Refund Issue Still Open
The petitioner procured inputs on payment of appropriate tax and utilized the Input Tax Credit (ITC) in the Electronic Credit Ledger. Since SEZ units export without tax payment, the accumulated ITC was generally unutilized. Consequently, the petitioner lodged an online refund claim of ₹65,05,135/- under Rule 89(4) of the CGST Rules for the period May 2021 to March 2022, categorized as “Export of goods/services without payment of tax (accumulated ITC).”
