Infinx Services Private Limited Vs Union of India (Bombay High Court)
The petition was filed under Article 226 seeking to quash a show cause notice dated 20.05.2025 and a refund rejection order dated 02.07.2025, and for directions to grant a refund of ₹5.08 crore with interest. The petitioner challenged the rejection of its refund claim as arbitrary, illegal, and in violation of principles of natural justice and Rule 92(3) of the CGST Rules, 2017.
The petitioner, engaged in IT and IT-enabled services including business process outsourcing, provided zero-rated services to clients located outside India without payment of IGST. On 26.04.2025, it applied for refund of unutilised input tax credit for January–June 2024. A show cause notice was issued on 20.05.2025 proposing rejection of the refund on grounds including non-submission of export invoices, FIRC/FIRA, and lack of correlation between e-BRC and invoices. The notice required a reply within seven days and scheduled a hearing on or before 26.05.2025.
The petitioner submitted its reply on 26.05.2025 and requested rescheduling of the hearing due to heavy rains in Mumbai preventing attendance. Despite this request, the authority passed an ex-parte order on 02.07.2025 rejecting the refund claim.
The petitioner contended that the rejection violated natural justice as no personal hearing was granted despite a specific request. It also argued that Rule 92(3) mandates at least 15 days to respond to a show cause notice, whereas only seven days were provided. On merits, it was argued that FIRC reflected the GSTIN of the corporate office due to operational convenience, with foreign exchange received in a common account and subsequently allocated to relevant invoices.
