Gandhar Oil Refinery India Limited Vs Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax (Andhra Pradesh High Court)
GST Refund application is not barred by limitation, as period from 1st March, 2020 to 28th February, 2022 to be excluded
The Hon’ble Andhra Pradesh High Court in M/S. Gandhar oil refinery (India) Limited v. Assistant commissioner of sales tax [Writ Petition No.24873 of 2022 dated August 24, 2022] remanded back the matter to the assessing authority, depending upon the recent notification for fresh consideration in accordance with the law. The Court also stated that the application for refund was not made beyond the period of limitation and therefore, disposed off the writ petition accordingly.
Facts:
M/S. Gandhar oil refinery (India) Limited (“the Petitioner”) is engaged in the business of trading Coal. The Petitioner claimed that he is entitled to a refund of tax paid on such supplies, in terms of Section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017(“the CGST Act”) read with Rule 89 of the Central Goods and Service Tax Rules, 2017 (“the CGST Rules”).
The refund application filed by the Petitioner dated September 22, 2021, was for the tax period of May 2018 to May 2019. Further, a show cause notice dated November 12, 2021 (“the SCN”) was issued to the Petitioner by the assessing authority (“the Respondent”), on the ground that the application made by the Petitioner, is barred by limitation.
Since the refund application was filed beyond the period of two years prescribed under Section 54(14) of the CGST Act, the Respondent passed an order dated June 16, 2022 (“the Impugned order”) rejecting the refund application of the Petitioner.
Therefore, the Petitioner filed the present writ petition.
Issue:
Whether or not the refund application filed by the Petitioner is barred by limitation according to the recent notification [Notification no. 13/2022–Central Tax dated July 5, 2022]?
Held:
The Hon’ble Andhra Pradesh High Court in Writ Petition No.24873 of 2022 dated August 24, 2022 held as under:
