G S Industries Vs Commissioner of Central Tax And Gst Delhi West (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court, in the case of G.S. Industries vs. Commissioner of Central Tax and GST, Delhi West, addressed a petition concerning the partial denial of interest on a delayed Goods and Services Tax (GST) refund. The petitioner, G.S. Industries, had initially filed two refund applications on July 4, 2019, and July 9, 2019, seeking a total refund of Rs. 37,56,750.
The GST department issued deficiency memos on November 29, 2019, which the petitioner addressed on January 27, 2020. Acknowledgements were subsequently issued on February 11, 2020. However, the refund was not processed with interest within the statutory 60-day period as per Section 54(7) of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act).
The petitioner filed a writ petition, W.P.(C) 9321/2020, which resulted in a court order on November 24, 2020, directing the department to process the claim within three weeks. Despite this, the refund was rejected on December 14, 2020. The petitioner successfully appealed the decision, and the Commissioner (Appeals) on January 3, 2022, set aside the rejection, allowing the refund but without awarding interest.
Following this, the petitioner filed a second set of refund applications on February 4, 2022. Due to the continued delay in receiving the funds, the petitioner filed a second writ petition, W.P.(C) 14719/2022. On March 28, 2023, the High Court directed the department to process the refund, including interest, immediately. The refund was finally sanctioned on June 9, 2023, but the department only granted a portion of the interest, amounting to Rs. 45,669, calculated for a period of 74 days (from March 28, 2023, to June 9, 2023).
