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2022 (10) TMI 1000 - HC - GSTSeeking direction to re-credit amount in electronic credit ledger - period of limitation for refund - Gap between online application and physical application - time limitation in terms of Explanation (2) (c) (1) of Section 54 of the Central Goods & Services Tax Act, 2017 HELD THAT:- Sub-section (1) of Section 54 of the CGST ACt provides that any person claiming refund of any tax and interest, if any, paid on such tax or any other amount paid by him, may make an application before the expiry of two years from the relevant date in such form and manner as may be prescribed. Prior to the insertion of Explanation (2) (ba) by the Finance Act, 2022, the relevant date in the case of goods exported out of India by land, the date on which such goods pass the frontier. In the case of services exported out of India, the date of receipt of payment in convertible foreign exchange or in Indian rupees or issue of invoices, where payment of the services had been received in advance prior to the date of issue of the invoice, is treated as relevant date. The total case of the respondents is thus that since the physical submission of the application along with documents was on 17.10.2019, it was beyond the period of two years and therefore time barred, counted from the relevant date. It is not in dispute that the petitioners filed their refund application in the common portal on 28.12.2018 and ARN was generated. Until the application with documents were physically submitted on 17.10.2019, the respondents did not do anything on the application, which was filed as per the mechanism adopted by the respondents, on 28.12.2018. It is not in dispute that the refund claim of the petitioner otherwise satisfied all requirements of Section 54 of the CGST Act and the attendant Rules and the petitioner was eligible to seek refund. The refund claim was however considered as time barred stating that the application was liable to be treated to have been filed on 17.10.2019 and not on 28.12.2018. It has to be held that the date of filing of the application by the petitioner on common portal would be liable to be treated as date of filing claim for refund to the satisfaction of requirement of Section 54 of the CGST Act and Rule 89 of the CGST Rules. The procedure evolved in Circular dated 15.11.2017 cannot operate as delimiting condition on the applicability of statutory provisions - the respondents are directed to re-credit the amount of Rs.3,37,076/- in the electronic credit ledger of the petitioner with interest at the rate of 9% p.a. from the date of order of rejection of the claim, i.e., 19.11.2019 till realisation - petition allowed.
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