Murtuza Foods Private Limited vs. Union Of INDIA

Held

The Court held that the refund applications filed by the petitioners were to be treated as within time. This decision was based on the applicability of Notification No. 13/2022-Central Tax dated 5th July 2022, issued under Section 168A of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Clause (iii) of this notification specifically excludes the period from 1st March 2020 to 28th February 2022 for the computation of the period of limitation for filing refund applications under Section 54 of the Act. The Court noted that the petitioners' refund application, filed on 30.4.2021, fell within this excluded period. The respondents' counsel could not dispute this position, and an email from the competent authority confirmed the notification's application. Consequently, the Court directed the competent authority to process the refund claims in accordance with law, treating them as filed within time, and to grant the refund with statutory interest if the petitioners were otherwise eligible. The entire exercise was to be completed within 12 weeks from the receipt of the order.

Facts

The petitioners, Pooja Dehy Foods Pvt. Ltd. and others, filed writ petitions before the Gujarat High Court challenging orders passed by the Commissioner (Appeals), GST & Central Excise, Rajkot, and the Assistant Commissioner, CGST, Bhavnagar. These orders denied the petitioners' refund claims for CGST. The primary reason cited by the authorities for rejecting the refund applications was that they were filed belatedly under Section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The petitioners sought to set aside these orders, direct the sanction of their refund amounts, and claim statutory interest on the delayed refund.

Key Issues

1. Whether the refund applications filed by the petitioners were belatedly filed under Section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, thereby disentitling them to the refund? The petitioner argued that their refund applications were filed within the period excluded by Notification No. 13/2022-Central Tax dated 5th July 2022, issued under Section 168A of the CGST Act. This notification excluded the period from 1st March 2020 to 28th February 2022 for computing the period of limitation for filing refund applications under Section 54. The petitioner contended that their refund application, filed on 30.4.2021, fell within this excluded period. The respondent authorities, initially, had rejected the refund on the grounds of belated filing. However, during the court proceedings, the learned advocate for the respondents could not dispute the applicability of the aforementioned notification. The respondent authorities, through an email communication from the competent authority, confirmed the application of the notification to the petitioner's case, bringing the refund claim within the permissible time limits.