TMI Blog2023 (4) TMI 752X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... enumerated above is that once an application for a refund is made, it has to be processed. If there are lacunae, the Applicant is to be informed to remove the lacunae and to submit the claim after removing the said lacunae; the application is to be considered for either grant or rejection of the refund. Also, no application for a refund should be rejected without giving an opportunity to the applicant of being heard. The procedure is a selfcontained and provides for various stages which mandates steps to be taken by the applicant and the officer. The Petitioner had applied for a refund. The Petitioner received an acknowledgment under Form GST RFD-02 with a Nil remark, meaning, thereby, the application for refund was acknowledged. There were no lacunae pointed out under the said acknowledgment. No deficiency was pointed out; neither deficiency memo, as contemplated under Rule 90 (3) of the CGST Rules of 2017 in Form GST RFD-03, was issued to the Petitioner. The Petitioner directly received Form GST RFD-08 under Rule 92 (3) of the CGST Rules of 2017 for rejection of the application for refund. There were no reasons given in the said Form GST RFD-08, and it was stated that the Expo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ioner. Thereafter, Respondent No. 3 passed an impugned order on 25 July 2022, rejecting the refund claim. Being aggrieved by the action taken by Respondent No. 3, the Petitioner has filed this petition. 4. We have heard Mr. Bharat Raichandani, the learned Advocate for the Petitioner and Mr. Himanshu Takke, the learned AGP for Respondent - State. 5. The main contention of the Petitioner is that the procedure adopted by the Respondents to reject the refund claim is contrary to law and in breach of principles of natural justice, which are embodied in these statutory provisions. It is necessary to briefly elucidate the statutory provisions governing the refund. 6. Section 16 of the IGST Act of 2017 refers to zero-rated supply, defined as the export of goods or services or both or supply of goods or services or both for authorised operations to a Special Economic Zone developer or a Special Economic Zone unit. Section 16 (3) of the IGST Act of 2017 permits a registered person regarding zero-rated supply to claim a refund of the unutilised input tax credit on the supply of goods or services or both without payment of integrated tax under the Letter of Undertaking. Section 54 (1) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on Reference No. (ARN) ..Dated - Reg. Sir/ Madam, This has reference to your above mentioned application filed under Section 54 of the Act. Upon scrutiny of your application, certain deficiencies have been noticed below : Sr. No. Description (select the reason from the drop down of the Refund application) 1. 2. Other (any other reason other than the reason select from the reason master ) You are advised to file a fresh refund application after rectification of above deficiencies. Signature (DSC): ... Name of Proper Officer: . Designation: ... Office Address : ... Date: Place : *** 9. Rule 92 of the CGST Rules of 2017 prescribes the procedure for issuing an order sanctioning a refund. Under Rule 92, if upon examination of the application, the proper officer is satisfied that a refund under sub-section (5) of section 54 is due and payable to the applicant, he shall make an order in Form GST RFD-06. In cases where the amount of refund is completely adjusted against any outstanding demand under the Act or under any existing law, an order giving details of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e basis of available records and on merits. Signature (DSC): ... Name : . Designation: ... Office Address : ... Date: Place : *** Where the proper officer is satisfied that the amount is payable to the applicant or not payable, the officer will communicate the decision in the forms prescribed. 10. This, in short, is a statutory procedure prescribed for dealing with the application of the refund arising under the provisions of the IGST Act of 2017 and CGST Act of 2017 in the context of the facts of this case. The gist of the procedure enumerated above is that once an application for a refund is made, it has to be processed. If there are lacunae, the Applicant is to be informed to remove the lacunae and to submit the claim after removing the said lacunae; the application is to be considered for either grant or rejection of the refund. Also, no application for a refund should be rejected without giving an opportunity to the applicant of being heard. The procedure is a selfcontained and provides for various stages which mandates steps to be taken by the applicant and the officer. 11. Turning now ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ce. 13. There was no opportunity given to the Petitioner to rectify lacunae, and the deficiencies which are to be informed through Form GST RFD-03 were sent in a file attached in Form GST RFD-08. This deprived the Petitioner of submitting a fresh refund application as contemplated under Rule 90 (3) of the CGST Rules of 2017. 14. Apart from this prejudice to the Petitioner, there is nonadherence with the procedure envisaged under the Rules to use the correct Forms prescribed. Not only Form GST RFD-03 was not issued, but a file is sought to be attached to Form GST RFD-08, which has a different Form. We find no explanation for why the deficiencies were uploaded in a separate file. The reason sought to be given by the learned AGP on behalf of the officer is that this Form does not have enough space. However, the deficiencies were wrongly informed, as a matter of rejection, in show cause under Form GST RFD-08 but they should have been by Form GST RFD-03. Form GST RFD-03 has a drop-down menu from which deficiencies can be selected and has an additional text box for entering other reasons not listed in the reason master . The forms prescribed under the CGST Rules of 2017 governing ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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