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2023 (3) TMI 110 - DELHI HIGH COURTRefund of GST paid - Non-supply of service - lease rentals “on account of assessment/provisional assessment/appeal/any other order” for the period of 01.07.2017 to 30.07.2018 - impugned order was passed in violation of principles of natural justice or not - failure on the part of Appellate Authority to appreciate that the lease was nullified in terms of the resolution plan. HELD THAT:- It is important to note that the SCN dated 11.01.2021 had proposed rejection of the petitioner’s application on the premise that the lease of the property was required to be considered as supply of the services and the same were required to be valued in terms of Section 15 of the CGST Act. The Adjudicating Authority had reasoned that there was no specific exclusion under Section 15 of the CGST Act from the value of the supply in respect of “non-recovery of payments of bad debts”. Thus, according to the Adjudicating Authority, the fact that the petitioner had not recovered the lease rentals on which GST had been paid, it did not entitle it to any refund because a liability to pay GST would not stand extinguished on that ground. It is clear that the Appellate Authority had granted sufficient opportunity of personal hearing to the petitioner but the petitioner had failed to avail the same. The assumption that the Appellate Authority was bound to accede to repeated request for adjournment is erroneous. The contention that the impugned order has been passed in violation of principles of natural justice is bereft of any merit. Whether the petitioner was liable to pay GST in respect of the lease of the property in view of the resolution plan terminating all agreements/arrangements between BSL and other related parties? - HELD THAT:- There is no dispute that the resolution plan was sanctioned by the National Company Law Tribunal and is binding. It is the petitioner’s contention that, in terms of the sanctioned plan, the ‘Memorandum of Agreement for Lease’ dated 01.04.2015 was terminated without any liability on the part of BSL to pay or make any payment - The entire transaction of lease was brought into question and was terminated under the resolution plan. Thus, according to the petitioner, there was no supply of services. This contention has not been considered by the Appellate Authority. The impugned order largely proceeds on the basis that the supply of services was admitted and the refund of GST was sought on account of non-recovery of the lease rentals. The impugned order is set aside and matter remanded to the Appellate Authority to consider the aforesaid contention and pass a speaking order after affording the petitioner a reasonable opportunity to be heard - petition disposed off.
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