Jharkhand HC: M/S BLA Infrastructure Private Limited V The State Of Jharkhand : 2025 (2) TMI (352)
Background:
The petitioner, BLA Infrastructure Private Limited, is a registered dealer under the Goods & Services Tax Act, involved in the business of loading, unloading, and transporting coal. In January 2021, the petitioner was issued a show-cause notice under Section 74 of the JGST Act, 2017, for alleged discrepancies between GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B filings for September 2019. An ex parte order was passed, imposing a liability of Rs. 16,90,442, including tax, interest, and a penalty. The petitioner filed an appeal and, as required, made a statutory pre-deposit of 10% of the disputed tax amount under Section 107(6)(b) of the Act. The appellate authority allowed the appeal on February 9, 2022. On September 11, 2024, the petitioner applied for a refund of the pre-deposit amount. This application was rejected via a Deficiency Memo dated November 6, 2024, on the ground that it was time-barred under Section 54(1) of the Goods & Services Tax Act. Aggrieved by this rejection, the petitioner filed a writ petition before the Jharkhand High Court.
Decision:
The High court held that the action of the Respondents in rejecting the refund application as time-barred was not legally sustainable. The Hon’ble High Court allowed the petitioner’s writ application. In terms of the interpretation extended by the Hon’ble Apex Court, as also, taking into consideration that the refund of statutory pre-deposit is a right vested on an assessee after an appeal is allowed in its favour, it was held that the Department has no reason to say that the pre-deposit made by an assessee can be forfeited taking aid of section 54 of the Act and the same cannot be the intent of the Act of 2017.
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