Belated Form W filing cannot defeat a VAT refund claim based on zero-rated turnover and filed statutory returns.

Belated filing of Form W was not, by itself, a valid basis to reject a VAT refund claim arising from undisputed zero-rated turnover. Where the statutory monthly returns had been filed and the claim was otherwise within time, the refund application had to be examined on merits and its genuineness and admissibility verified, rather than defeated on a procedural defect in the supporting form. The court held that input tax credit is a beneficial provision and that delayed or manual filing of Form W could not bar consideration of the refund claim. The impugned order was set aside in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether belated filing of Form W could be treated as a bar to consideration of the refund claim and reversal of input tax credit.

Analysis: The dispute related to export turnover forming a zero-rated sale, with monthly Form I returns having been filed. The Court relied on the earlier view that Input Tax Credit is a beneficial provision and that the statutory refund claim, once otherwise in time and supported by undisputed returns, should not be defeated merely because Form W was filed belatedly or in manual form. The proper course was to examine the refund application on merits and verify the genuineness and admissibility of the claim.

Conclusion: Belated filing of Form W was held not to be a valid ground to refuse consideration of the refund claim, and the impugned order was set aside in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: A refund claim under the VAT regime cannot be rejected solely on the ground of delayed filing of a supporting form when the claim arises from undisputed zero-rated turnover and the statutory returns have otherwise been filed.

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