M/S Amtek Auto LTD. vs. Union Of INDIA And Ors.

Facts

The petitioner, Amtek Auto Limited, filed a writ petition seeking a direction to the respondents to decide a show cause notice dated 18.11.2019. The petitioner referred to a circular dated 18.11.2019, which stipulates that for a refund application assigned to a Central Tax Officer, both the sanction order (FORM GST RFD-04/06) and the corresponding payment order (FORM GST RFD-05) for the sanctioned refund amount under all tax heads, shall be issued by the Central Tax Officer. The petitioner had made a refund application, acknowledged as Annexure P-3, which had not been decided. The respondents, Union of India and others, accepted notice.

Held

The Court, considering the circular dated 18.11.2019, disposed of the petition by directing respondent No.2, the Assistant Commissioner, Goods and Service Tax Division, Rewari, to examine the refund application (Annexure P-3). The Court ordered that the application be decided in accordance with the law within two months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of the order. The reasoning is based on the petitioner's reliance on the circular and the lack of a recorded dispute or contrary argument from the respondents regarding the applicability of the circular to the petitioner's refund application. The ratio decidendi is that tax authorities must adhere to their own circulars when deciding refund applications, and where an application remains undecided, the High Court can direct its expeditious disposal.

Key Issues

1. Whether the respondents are obligated to decide the refund application (Annexure P-3) in accordance with the circular dated 18.11.2019 (Annexure P-7)? Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that the circular dated 18.11.2019 mandates that for refund applications assigned to a Central Tax Officer, the sanction and payment orders must be issued by the Central Tax Officer. They contended that their refund application, acknowledged as Annexure P-3, has not been decided despite the instructions in the circular. Respondents' contention: The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the respondents. However, by accepting notice and appearing before the court, they were implicitly involved in the decision-making process.