M/S. Dr. Reddy S Laboratories Limited vs. Deputy Commissioner Of Central Tax

Held

The Court held that in view of Notification No. 13/2022-Central Tax, dated July 5, 2022, which excludes the period from March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2022, for the computation of the limitation period for filing refund applications under Section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, the refund applications of the petitioner would now be within time. The Court found that the respondents' counsel fairly conceded this position. Consequently, the Court set aside the rejection orders dated September 13, 2021, and the consequential order-in-appeal dated May 30, 2022. The matter was remitted back to Respondent No. 1, the Deputy Commissioner of Central Tax, Ameerpet GST Division, Hyderabad, to consider the refund applications dated July 15, 2021, for the months of July, August, October, and November 2018, in accordance with law. The Court explicitly allowed all the writ petitions.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited, filed refund applications for tax paid under the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, for various months in 2018. These applications were rejected by the Deputy Commissioner of Central Tax (Respondent No. 1) on grounds of delay. The petitioner appealed these rejections to the Additional Commissioner (Appeals-1) (Respondent No. 2), who confirmed the rejections. Subsequently, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs issued Notification No. 13/2022-Central Tax on July 5, 2022, which excluded the period from March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2022, for calculating the limitation period for filing refund applications under Section 54 of the CGST Act. The petitioner then filed these writ petitions challenging the appellate orders.

Key Issues

1. Whether the refund applications filed by the petitioner are within the prescribed limitation period in light of Notification No. 13/2022-Central Tax? Petitioner's argument: The petitioner contended that the issuance of Notification No. 13/2022-Central Tax, which excludes the period from March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2022, for calculating the limitation period for filing refund applications under Section 54 of the CGST Act, would render their refund applications timely. They argued that the refund applications should now be considered within time and require reconsideration. Revenue's argument: The respondents, through their counsel, fairly submitted that in view of the notification dated July 5, 2022, the refund applications of the petitioner would now be within time. They did not contest the petitioner's claim based on the notification.