DYS Impex Private Limited Vs Assistant Commissioner of Revenue (Calcutta High Court)
The Calcutta High Court has set aside an order denying a partial Goods and Services Tax (GST) refund to DYS Impex Private Limited, citing a failure by tax authorities to consider the retrospective application of Section 16(5) of the WBGST/CGST Act, 2017. The court has remanded the case back to the proper officer for re-adjudication, emphasizing the need to account for the extended deadline for Input Tax Credit (ITC) claims for specific financial years.
The dispute originated from an appeal filed by DYS Impex Private Limited challenging a partial refund rejection order issued on February 21, 2024. This order pertained to the tax period of July 2019 to September 2019 and was initially based on a rejection notice dated April 14, 2023. The petitioner argued that due to the retrospective insertion of Section 16(5) into the GST Act, they were entitled to the benefit of delayed filing of returns for ITC claims up to 2021, provided such returns were filed by November 30, 2021.
Records presented to the High Court indicated that both the proper officer and the appellate authority had disallowed the refund claim by relying on the proviso to Section 16(4) of the GST Act. This section generally restricts the taking of ITC after a certain date following the end of the financial year to which the invoice or debit note pertains, or the furnishing of the relevant annual return, whichever is earlier.
