Adboulevard Media Private Limited Vs Additional Commissioner (Allahabad High Court)
The Allahabad High Court dealt with a writ petition challenging rejection of a GST refund and the manner in which the appellate order was passed by the concerned GST officer. The petitioner contended that the refund application under Section 54 of the GST law had been rejected without proper reasons by the Proper Officer and that the appellate authority, while affirming the rejection, passed an order largely containing copy-pasted material unrelated to the petitioner’s case. It was specifically alleged that substantial portions of the appellate order referred to another party and even to a different tax period, rendering the decision arbitrary and mechanical.
Taking note of these pleadings, the Court initially directed the officer who passed the impugned appellate order to file a personal affidavit explaining his conduct. The Commissioner of State GST and the Secretary, Finance, Government of Uttar Pradesh, were also directed to file personal affidavits addressing the issue. Upon perusal of the impugned order, the Court found that matters unrelated to the disputed refund period of April 2024 to June 2024 had been quoted, while findings appeared to rely on a different period, namely October 2024 to January 2025. As the affidavit filed by the officer asserted that no copy-paste method was used, the Court found this explanation prima facie unsatisfactory and granted further opportunity to file a better affidavit, failing which personal appearance was directed.
