Synchrony International Services Pvt. Ltd. Vs Assistant Commissioner (ST) (Telangana High Court)
Summary: The Telangana High Court disposed of multiple writ petitions filed by Synchrony International Services Pvt. Ltd. concerning claims of interest on delayed GST refunds for the period July 2018 to March 2021.
The petitions related to refund amounts that had already been sanctioned and disbursed either by the Refund Sanctioning Authority or pursuant to orders passed by the appellate authority. Since the refunds were delayed, the petitioner claimed interest under Section 56 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act).
The petitioner’s claims for interest were pending before the Proper Officer since 03.06.2025. During processing of the interest refund applications, Deficiency Memos were issued, and the petitioner approached the High Court after issuance of the third Deficiency Memo, which according to the petitioner did not contain relevant particulars.
The petitioner submitted that once refund had been sanctioned, interest for delay beyond 60 days from the date of the first application would follow automatically. It was argued that requiring additional particulars and documents unrelated to the interest claim was causing further delay and additional interest liability for the Department.
The petitioner further contended that Section 16(2)(c) of the CGST Act would not apply after refund had already been sanctioned and paid. It was also submitted that there was no question of passing on the interest component to any other person as the claim related only to interest on an already sanctioned refund.
