Home Case Index All Cases GST GST + HC GST - 2021 (11) TMI HC This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2021 (11) TMI 1013 - HC - GSTRefund of unutilized input tax credit (ITC) - export of iron ore fines - export duty is nil as a result of an exemption notification - HELD THAT:- In earlier writ petition of the Petitioner i.e. W.P.(C) No.26685 of 2021, the challenge was to two instructions dated 8th June and 25th June 2021 issued by the Joint Commissioner of CT and GST (Law) at Cuttack instructing Circle Heads in Odisha to treat such export as duty paid and refusing the refund - This Court had in the said writ petition on 8th September 2021, while issuing notice directed that no further steps would be taken vis-à-vis the Petitioner by the Opposite Parties pursuant to those impugned notices. The Petitioner in the said writ petition had also challenged the show cause notice (SCN) dated 21st July 2021 which was pertaining to the period April 2019 to March. 2020. A development that has taken place subsequent to the above order passed by this Court is that the GST Council at its 45th Meeting on 17th September 2021 decided inter alia to issue a clarification in respect of goods for which the export duty is in fact not paid. It was clarified that “only those goods which are actually subjected to export duty i.e., on which some export duty has to be paid at the time of export, will be covered under the restriction imposed under section 54 (3) of the CGST Act, 2017 from availment of refund of accumulated ITC.” - As a result of the above decision of the GST Council, a fresh circular dated 20th September 2021 has been issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBITC), GST Policy Wing, Ministry of Finance, Government of India in which one of the questions addressed is, at serial No.3, “whether the first proviso to section 54(3) of the CGST/SGST Act, prohibiting refund of unutilized ITC is applicable in case of exports of goods which are having NIL rate of export duty?” It is seen that since the instruction dated 25th June 2021 stands withdrawn, clearly the earlier instruction dated 8th June 2021 which is in the same vein also does not survive. Therefore, one of the prayers of the previous petition as well as the present petition challenging the aforementioned circulars does not survive - Since the impugned SCN has been issued only as result of the circulars, it also does not survive and is accordingly set aside. A direction is now issued to the Opposite Party-authority to reprocess the refund application of the Petitioner in light of the fresh circular issued on 20th September 2021 (Annexure-14) and convey the decision to the Petitioner thereon not later than 7th February, 2022. It is made clear that whatever the technical issues for reprocessing the refund application should be resolved by the authority as expeditiously as possible and in a manner to ensure compliance with the timeline set by this Court in this order. The rejection of the refund application does not survive and is hereby set aside - Petition allowed.
|