Uni Well Exim vs. State Of Gujarat

Held

The Court, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the show cause notice, held that in the interest of justice, the concerned respondent authorities should hear the petitioner on the issue of the show cause notice. After hearing the petitioner, the authorities are to pass necessary orders as expeditiously as possible, preferably by October 9, 2020. The Court directed that the authority shall pass an appropriate order in accordance with law, without being influenced by the High Court's order. The Court did not specifically address the issue of provisional refund under Section 54(6) but implicitly allowed for its consideration during the adjudication process. The primary relief granted was the expeditious adjudication of the pending matter.

Facts

The petitioner, Uni Well Exim, filed a writ petition before the Gujarat High Court challenging the inaction of the revenue authorities regarding their refund application dated December 24, 2019. The petitioner also sought adjudication of a show cause notice dated January 11, 2020, issued for the rejection of their refund application, and their reply dated January 25, 2020. The petitioner requested provisional sanction of the refund claim under Section 54(6) of the CGST Act, 2017/SGST Act, 2017, read with Rule 91(2) of the CGST Rules, 2017, and for the immediate adjudication of the show cause notice. The revenue authorities attributed the delay to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to a provisional refund under Section 54(6) of the CGST Act, 2017/SGST Act, 2017, read with Rule 91(2) of the CGST Rules, 2017, pending adjudication of their refund application and show cause notice? Petitioner's argument: The petitioner contended that they had made repeated requests for the decision on the show cause notice and the refund, and that the authorities had not acted upon them. They sought provisional sanction of the refund. Revenue's argument: The revenue submitted that due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, they could not prioritize the matter. 2. Whether the revenue authorities are obligated to adjudicate the show cause notice dated January 11, 2020, forthwith? Petitioner's argument: The petitioner argued that the authorities had failed to adjudicate the show cause notice despite their requests and sought an order directing immediate adjudication. Revenue's argument: The revenue attributed the delay to the COVID-19 pandemic.