Court directs GST dealer to reapply for refund, rejects earlier rejections, orders quick processing.

The court directed the petitioner, a registered dealer under the Goods and Service Tax Act, to apply to the Nodal Officer for facilitating the uploading of necessary forms without reference to the time-frame. The rejection orders on Exhibits P15, P16, and P17 were quashed, allowing the petitioner to claim the refund based on the physically filed applications. The respondents were directed to complete the process within three months.

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Issues: Refund of IGST paid, Procedure for refund application, Technical glitch on GST Portal, Relief sought through writ petition

In this judgment, the petitioner, a registered dealer under the Goods and Service Tax Act, sought a refund of Rs. 1,62,72,000 being the IGST it paid for its supply of turmeric extract powder, which amounted to deemed export. The petitioner claimed refund through applications filed physically as the online facility was unavailable, contrary to the procedure mandating electronic application upload. The writ petition was filed as the applications were not processed per Ext.P14 circular. The Standing Counsel for the 3rd respondent suggested approaching the GST Network for application processing. The Government of India issued a circular for addressing taxpayer grievances due to technical glitches on the GST Portal, outlining the procedure for Nodal Officers to follow. The Court noted that not only the petitioner but others also faced technical glitches and were permitted to apply to the Nodal Officer for issue resolution. The Court directed the petitioner to apply to the Nodal Officer for facilitating the uploading of necessary forms without reference to the time-frame. The rejection orders on Exhibits P15, P16, and P17 were quashed, allowing the petitioner to claim the refund based on the physically filed applications. The respondents were directed to complete the process within three months.

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