Rashmi Agency Vs Deputy Commissioner CT & GST Circle (Orissa High Court)
The Orissa High Court set aside an order of the Deputy Commissioner of CT & GST refusing to consider the petitioner’s refund application of Rs. 33,00,000/- under Section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The Court held that the refund application had been rejected solely because the State still had time to file an appeal before the GST Appellate Tribunal, even though no appeal or other proceeding was pending on the date of the impugned order.
The dispute arose after Rs. 33,00,000/- was recovered from the petitioner during a search conducted by the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence on 10 August 2023. The petitioner stated that the amount had been deposited under protest and that it had inadvertently been deposited under the petitioner’s GST registration instead of that of another entity under investigation. The petitioner’s appeal against rejection of the refund was allowed by the Additional Commissioner of State Tax on 27 February 2026, who directed that the excess payment, if any, be refunded in accordance with law. Pursuant to the appellate order, the petitioner filed a refund application in Form GST RFD-01. However, the Deputy Commissioner declined to consider the application, observing that the appellate order had not attained finality because the State could still file an appeal within the period prescribed under Section 112 of the GST Act.
