Case Law Details
Schlumberger Asia Services Limited Vs Union of India (Bombay High Court)
Introduction: In the legal case of Schlumberger Asia Services Limited vs. Union of India, the Bombay High Court addressed a series of identical orders dated August 25, 2021, in which the petitioner’s appeals for refund were rejected. Schlumberger Asia Services Limited is a Hong Kong-based company with a registered branch office in India. The company is engaged in providing services related to mining, offshore exploration, and the drilling of crude petroleum and natural gas.
Detailed Analysis:
1. Background of the Case: Schlumberger, as part of its business operations in India, filed claims for the refund of all unutilized input tax credits for the period from April 2018 to March 2019, excluding May 2018. These claims were made under section 16(3) of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (“IGST Act”), along with section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (“CGST Act”) and the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (“MGST Act”), including the rules associated with these laws.
2. Reasons for Rejection: Respondent No. 4, the authority responsible for handling the appeals, rejected Schlumberger’s appeals on the grounds that the returns filed by the petitioner did not reflect zero-rated turnover. It was noted that there was a clerical error, leading to this omission, and Schlumberger contended that it was not a case of suppressing sales turnover. It is important to highlight that while the zero-rated supplies were not initially reported in the monthly returns, they were correctly reported in the annual returns filed on March 24, 2021.
Please become a Premium member. If you are already a Premium member, login here to access the full content.
