Sun Pharma Laboratories Limited vs. The Union Of INDIA And Ors.

WP(C)/9/2020HC SikkimGSTCNR SKHC01000031202019 November 2020Bench: HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE,HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE BHASKAR RAJ PRADHAN14 pages
AI SummaryRemanded

Held

The High Court set aside the Appellate Authority's order, finding it violated principles of natural justice by rejecting the refund claim on new grounds without allowing the petitioner to respond. The matter was remanded to the Appellate Authority for fresh consideration after providing the petitioner an opportunity to file a representation and be heard on the aspects raised.

Facts

Sun Pharma inadvertently paid GST on inter-unit stock transfers, which did not qualify as 'supply' under Section 7 of the CGST Act. They sought a refund under Section 54, but the Assistant Commissioner rejected it. The Appellate Authority, while finding the initial rejection reason erroneous, dismissed the appeal by concluding that the excess tax was rectified and carried forward to subsequent returns.

Key Issues

Whether the Appellate Authority could reject a refund claim on grounds not raised in the Show Cause Notice without affording the petitioner an opportunity to be heard, and whether the inadvertently paid GST was actually adjusted in subsequent returns.

Sections Cited

Section 7, Section 54, Section 56, Section 107(11), Rule 92(1), Rule 92(3)

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

IN THE HIGH COURT OF SIKKIM : GANGTOK (Civil Extra-ordinary Jurisdiction)

W.P.(C) No. 09 of 2020

Sun Pharma Laboratories Limited Plot No. 107-108, Namli Block, P.O. Ranipool, East Sikkim, Sikkim-737135

… Petitioner

Versus

1.

Union of India Through the Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, North Block, New Delhhi-110001

2.

The Assistant Commissioner, Gangtok Division, Siliguri CGST and CX Commissionerate Indira By-Pass Road, Near District Court, Sichey, East Sikkim, Gangtok-737 101

3.

The Joint Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise Siliguri CGST and Central Excise (Appeal) Commissionerate, Central Revenue Building, 4th Floor, Haren Mukherjee Road, Hakimpara, Siliguri-734001

4.

The Commissioner, CGST and Central Excise, Siliguri Commissionerate Central Revenue Building, 4th Floor, Haren Mukherjee Road, Hakimpara, Siliguri-734001

… Respondents

BEFORE

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE ARUP KUMAR GOSWAMI, CJ. HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE BHASKAR RAJ PRADHAN, J.

For the petitioner : Mr. Rahul Tangri, Ms. Gita Bista and Mr. Vivek Jain,

Advocates.

Fo

The judgment continues below.

Read the full judgment

A free account opens 10 full GST judgments a month (one account works on both bharattax.net and this site). Re-reading one you have already opened does not count again.

See plans and prices

The summary, the parties, the sections and the citations above are open to everyone and always will be. Only the text of the order and the PDF are metered.

Reproduced from the public record of the Sikkim High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.