The High Court of Delhi has held that the rejection of refund application solely based on the ground of limitation is unsustainable as per the Notification issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ) dated July 5, 2022.
The decision came in response to a writ petition filed by Zenon Analytics Pvt. Ltd. against Union of India and another.
The petitioner, represented by Mr. Abhishekh Kumar and Mr. Gautam Choubey, contended that their refund applications for the periods of May 2019 to July 2019 and August 2019 to September 2019 were unjustly denied based on the limitation clause.
The appellant cited the crucial Notification issued by CBIC dated July 5, 2022, which excluded the period between March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2022, for the computation of the limitation period for filing refund applications.
The respondent revenue, represented by Mr. Vaibhav Gaggar, SPC, along with Ms. Monica Lakhanpal Gaggar, Mr. Prerak Khurana, Ms. Shefali Mude and Ms. Anushree Narain argued against the petitioner’s claims.
They submitted that the counter-affidavit from the respondents was filed on June 28, 2022, before the issuance of the aforementioned Notification by CBIC.
The division bench comprising Mr. Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Mr. Justice Ravinder Dudeja observed that the petitioner’s case fell squarely within the purview of the CBIC Notification, which effectively excluded the relevant period from the computation of the limitation period. Consequently, the rejection of the petitioner’s refund claims based solely on the limitation clause was deemed unsustainable.
The bench set aside the orders dated January 11, 2022, pertaining to both tax periods, and directed the restoration of the refund applications on the record of the Assessing Authority. The Assessing Authority was further instructed to adjudicate upon the applications in accordance with the law and to pass appropriate orders within a period of four weeks from the date of the judgment.
The bench also clarified that it had not delved into the merits of the contentions put forth by either party and that all rights and contentions of the parties remained reserved.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentSupport our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates
