Subsequent Addition of GSTIN in GST Refund Form insufficient reason for Disallowance of Claim: Gujarat HC remands matter [Read Order]

A Division bench of the Gujarat high Court has recently quashed the order of the appellate authority, remanding the GST matter where the GSTIN and duly filled form was subsequently revised by the petitioner after an appeal was preferred by the revenue challenging the order-in-original for lack of GSTIN in form and shipping bill.

The petitioner also submitted documents in support of the refund claim. The said application was sanctioned by an order dated 26.3.2019 sanctioning the refund of the petitioner. However, the CGST department being dissatisfied with the said refund order preferred an appeal against the said order.

It was contended that the Exporter had not mentioned the name and GST Identification Number of the present petitioner and was not mentioned in the shipping bill which was an essential condition of the aforesaid Notification.

Uchit N. Sheth, advocate appearing for the petitioner, submitted that it is true that through bonafide mistake, the Exporter to whom the goods were sold by the petitioner had not mentioned the name and GST Identification Number of the petitioner. “Upon a request made by the petitioner, revised form was submitted by the Exporter”, the petitioner counsel submitted.

It was thus submitted that the petitioner is entitled for the refund granted by the Authority.

However, Priyank P. Lodha, on behalf of the revenue, contested the submitting that it is an indisputable fact that the petitioner's name and GST Identification Number were not initially mentioned by the exporter. As a result, the lower authority should not have granted a refund in favor of the petitioner, he said. Therefore, he prayed that the petition be rejected.

The Bench observed that ,”It is true that initially, the Exporter to whom the petitioner has sold the goods had not mentioned the name and GST Identification Number of the petitioner. However, the authority granted refund considering the factual aspect of the matter i.e. details about the goods sold by the petitioner to the Exporter and further transferred by the Exporter to the third party.”

Further observing that subsequently, at the request of the petitioner, the correct form was submitted by the Exporter to the authority and, therefore, this aspect was required to be considered by the Appellate Authority which is essentially not done in the present case”,  the impugned order was quashed and set aside.

The matter was thus remanded back to the appellate authority for readjudication by the Division Bench of Justice A J Desai and Justice Nisha M Thakore.

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

Support our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates