Appellant granted refund shortfall due to technical glitch under Central Goods and Services Tax Act

The Additional Commissioner allowed the appellant's appeal regarding a refund application under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act. The appellant had received a disbursement of only Rs. 4,73,792 out of the sanctioned Rs. 5,94,924, resulting in a shortfall of Rs. 1,21,132 due to a technical problem. The jurisdictional officer confirmed the error, attributing it to a system issue. Consequently, the appellant was granted the entitled shortfall amount of Rs. 1,21,132, rectifying the discrepancy caused by the technical problem during disbursement.

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Issues:
Refund application under Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 - Disbursement of refund amount - Less payment received by the appellant - Appeal against the Order-in-Original - Technical problem leading to short disbursement.

Analysis:
The appellant filed a refund application for the period April 2018 to March 2019, amounting to Rs. 6,02,713/- of ITC on Export of Goods & Services without payment of tax. The adjudicating authority sanctioned a refund claim of Rs. 5,94,924/- out of the total claim, rejecting Rs. 7,789/-. However, during disbursement, only Rs. 4,73,792/- was disbursed, resulting in a shortfall of Rs. 1,21,132/-. The appellant appealed against the Order-in-Original, claiming the refund amount was not disbursed as per the sanction order and highlighting the shortfall of Rs. 1,21,132/-, along with interest. A virtual personal hearing was conducted where the Authorized Representative reiterated the appellant's written submission, emphasizing the discrepancy in the refund amount received. The appellant expressed no further grievances during the hearing.

Upon reviewing the facts and submissions, the Additional Commissioner noted the discrepancy in the disbursement of the refund amount. The adjudicating authority had sanctioned Rs. 5,94,924/-, but only Rs. 4,73,792/- was disbursed, leading to the appellant receiving Rs. 1,21,132/- less than the sanctioned amount. The appellant provided a copy of the payment order to support their claim. Following this, the jurisdictional officer confirmed that a technical problem during the calculation and saving process resulted in the short disbursement of Rs. 1,21,132/-. Considering the comments from the jurisdictional officer and the appellant's grounds for appeal, the Additional Commissioner concluded that the appellant was indeed entitled to the shortfall amount due to the technical issue in the system.

In light of the above findings, the Additional Commissioner allowed the appeal filed by the appellant, recognizing the shortfall in the refund amount received and attributing it to a technical problem in the system. Consequently, the appellant was deemed entitled to the less receipt payment of Rs. 1,21,132/-, rectifying the discrepancy caused by the technical issue during the disbursement process.

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