GST refund system error cannot defeat a legitimate refund claim where the amount was wrongly credited and later returned.

GST refund processing was treated as a technical system error where a consultant's inadvertent wrong bank entry sent the refund to another client's account and the amount was later returned to the Government. The refund claim was not disputed on merits, and the Court held that the petitioner should not lose the legitimate refund because of the consultant's mistake or the system's inability to permit manual reprocessing. The respondents were directed to credit the refund to the petitioner's correct bank account and complete the process within four weeks.

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Issues: Whether the refund amount, which was mistakenly credited to the wrong bank account due to the consultant's error and later returned to the Government account, was required to be credited to the petitioner's correct bank account.

Analysis: The petitioner's refund claim under the GST regime was not disputed on merits. The amount had gone to another client's account because of an inadvertent entry by the consultant, and that amount was subsequently returned to the Government by way of voluntary payment. The Court treated the problem as a technical glitch in the refund system and noted that the petitioner should not be deprived of the legitimate refund merely because of the consultant's mistake, especially when the respondents also accepted that manual reprocessing was not being permitted by the system.

Conclusion: The refund amount was directed to be credited to the petitioner's correct bank account, and the respondents were required to complete the process within four weeks.

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