M/S B.R. Oil Mills vs. Union Of INDIA

Held

The Court held that the present case was squarely covered by a previous order of a Division Bench of the same High Court in D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 2207/2021 (M/s Shri Laxmi Industries Vs. Union of India & Ors.). The Court noted that in that case, the Division Bench had considered the Supreme Court's suo motu order in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 3/2020 and the subsequent circular dated 05.07.2022. These pronouncements mandated the exclusion of the period from March 15, 2020, to February 28, 2022, for the purpose of computing the limitation period for filing refund applications under Section 54 of the CGST Act. Consequently, the Court found that the petitioner's refund application, filed with a relevant date of March 2018, was within the extended limitation period. The Court set aside the impugned order and remitted the matter back to the respondents to decide the refund application afresh on its merits in accordance with the law.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s B.r. Oil Mills, filed a writ petition before the Rajasthan High Court challenging an order (not specified in the judgment) passed by the Assistant Commissioner, Central Goods and Services Tax Department, Bharatpur. The petitioner sought a refund, and the relevant date for filing the refund application under Section 54 of the CGST Act, 2017, was stated to be March 2018. The petitioner argued that the limitation period for filing the refund application, which would have expired in March 2020, was extended due to the Supreme Court's suo motu order in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 3/2020 and subsequent notifications, including one dated 05.07.2022. The petitioner contended that the period from March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2022, should be excluded for computing the limitation period.

Key Issues

1. Whether the period from March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2022, should be excluded for the computation of the limitation period for filing a refund application under Section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, in light of the Supreme Court's suo motu order and subsequent circulars? Petitioner's Arguments: The petitioner argued that the relevant date for their refund application was March 2018, making the original limitation period expire in March 2020. They relied on the Supreme Court's suo motu order in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 3/2020, which excluded the period from March 15, 2020, to February 28, 2022, for computing limitation periods. They also cited the circular dated 05.07.2022 issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, which explicitly excluded the period from March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2022, for filing refund applications under Section 54 of the CGST Act. The petitioner asserted that their case was factually identical to a previous Division Bench order in M/s Shri Laxmi Industries Vs. Union of India & Ors. Revenue's Arguments: The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the respondents.