The Allahabad High Court in the case M/S Zest Inc v. Union Of India And 2 Others observed and has held that the refunds on exports in the period April, 2018 to June, 2018 can be claimed till June 21, 2021 and the refunds for exports made in April, 2019 to June, 2019 refund can be claimed till July 24, 2021.
The court in the case observed that the petitioner applied for the refund on march 31, 2021 and June 21, 2021 for the period April, 2018 to March, 2019) and on June 30, 2021 and July 24, 2021 for the tax period April, 2019 to June, 2019 which were rejected by the said court on grounds of delay.
The court observed that the petitioner could claim refund within two years from the relevant date i.e. date of export and since the exports were in the year 2018 and 2019, the refund applications could only be filed in 2020 and 2021.
Further, the court observed that the limitation remained suspended from February 15, 2020 to February 28, 2022 due to Covid-19.
The bench comprising of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra in the case held that the application for refund were filed by the petitioner not later than June 21, 2021 for the tax period April, 2018 to March, 2019 and not lesser than July 24, 2021 for the tax period April, 2019 to June, 2019.
The court also placed reliance on the decision of the Allahabad High Court in the case Gamma Gaana Ltd. vs. Union of India, wherein the Court quashed the order rejecting refund claims of the petitioner.
The court while considering the facts and circumstances of the case observed and has directed the Assistant Commissioner, CGST, Division- (IV) to expeditiously decide the refund applications made by the petitioner, without raising any objection as to delay.
The counsel, Advocate Shubham Agrawal appeared for the petitioner. The counsel, Advocate Amit Mahajan represented the respondent.