Input tax credit refund on export turnover cannot be denied solely for late or manual Form W filing.

Refund of input tax credit linked to zero-rated export turnover cannot be denied solely because Form W was filed late and in manual form, where monthly Form I returns were already filed and no statutory bar to acceptance of manual filing was shown. The applicable principle is that input tax credit is a beneficial provision and refund claims within the statutory framework must be examined on merits, including admissibility and genuineness. Delay in filing Form W by itself is not sufficient to reject the claim, and the refund request must be reconsidered on substantive grounds.

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Issues: Whether refund of input-tax credit could be denied merely because Form W was filed belatedly and in manual form, when the turnover related to export turnover and monthly Form I returns had been filed.

Analysis: The refund claim arose from zero-rated export turnover. No specific statutory provision was shown to prohibit acceptance of manual forms, and the Court noted that the assessee had filed monthly Form I returns. The Court followed earlier decisions holding that where the export turnover and the refund claim are otherwise within the statutory framework, delay in filing Form W by itself is not a sufficient ground to reject the refund. Input tax credit being a beneficial provision, the proper course was to examine the refund claim on merits and verify admissibility and genuineness.

Conclusion: The refund claim could not be rejected solely on the ground of belated or manual filing of Form W; the matter had to be reconsidered on merits.

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