Ruhi Siraj Makda Vs Union of India & Anr. (Gujarat High Court)
The Gujarat High Court considered a writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution seeking a direction to the authorities to sanction refund of Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) paid on export of goods, along with interest. The petitioner had exported goods during the period April 2018 to September 2018 and filed three shipping bills, paying IGST amounting to ₹9,48,549. The petitioner sought refund of this amount as the exports qualified as zero-rated supplies.
The issue arose due to an error committed by the petitioner while filing returns. In Form GSTR-1, the petitioner mistakenly entered the IGST amount as zero under Table 6A, which contains export details. However, the IGST corresponding to the exports had actually been paid and was reflected in Form GSTR-3B, though under a different table. Due to this discrepancy, the ICEGATE system generated a refund scroll showing zero refund.
Read SC Judgment in this case: Clerical Mistakes in GST Returns Not a Valid Reason to Deny Export Refunds: SC
The petitioner submitted representations to the authorities along with supporting documents, including export invoices, shipping bills, bill of lading, IGST payment challans, and a Chartered Accountant certificate confirming export and tax payment. The petitioner also pointed out that amendment of GSTR-1 was not possible as the shipping bills had already been processed. Despite these representations, the refund was not granted, leading to the filing of the petition.
