Tejus Vertrage Infra LLP vs. Union Of INDIA And Ors

Held

The Court held that the period of limitation extended by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Suo Motu Writ Petition (C) No. 3 of 2020 also applies to refund claims. This decision was based on the reasoning that two Division Benches of the Bombay High Court, in the cases of Saiher Supply Chain Consulting Pvt. Ltd. and Priceline.Com Technology India LLP, had already ruled in favor of applying the Supreme Court's extension orders to refund claims. The Court noted that the Respondent-Union of India's challenge to the Saiher Supply Chain Consulting Pvt. Ltd. judgment, via a Special Leave to Appeal, was dismissed by the Supreme Court. Consequently, the impugned order of the Additional Commissioner (Appeals) was set aside. The refund claim of the Petitioner was restored to the file of the Assistant Commissioner for fresh examination on both limitation and merit, considering the Supreme Court's orders. The Assistant Commissioner was directed to pass the requisite decision within six weeks.

Facts

The Petitioner, Tejus Vertrage Infra LLP, is aggrieved by an order dated 25 February 2022 passed by the Additional Commissioner (Appeals-II), Central Tax, Pune. This order confirmed an earlier Order-in-Original dated 23 July 2022. The refund claim of the Petitioner was rejected primarily on the ground that it was filed beyond the two-year period prescribed under Section 54 of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017. The Assistant Commissioner had relied on Circular No. 157/13/2021-GST dated 20.07.2021, which stated that the Supreme Court's orders extending limitation periods were not applicable to compliances required by taxpayers, such as filing refund claims.

Key Issues

1. Whether the period of limitation extended by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Suo Motu Writ Petition (C) No. 3 of 2020 is applicable to refund claims under the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017, specifically concerning Section 54. Petitioner's Contention: The Petitioner argued that the Supreme Court's orders extending limitation periods, including those in Suo Motu Writ Petition (C) No. 3 of 2020, should apply to refund claims. They further stated that the Division Bench decision in Saiher Supply Chain Consulting Pvt. Ltd. Vs. The Union of India and Another, which held this position, was upheld by the Supreme Court when the Respondent-Union of India's Special Leave to Appeal (C) No (s.) 12404 of 2022 was dismissed on 29 July 2022. Respondents' Contention: The Respondents, through the Assistant Commissioner's order and the subsequent confirmation by the Additional Commissioner (Appeals), contended that the Supreme Court's orders were not applicable to refund claims, as these were considered compliances governed solely by the statutory mechanism and time limits under the GST Act, as per Circular No. 157/13/2021-GST.