Limitation in GST refund appeal treated flexibly as court directs fresh merits adjudication by competent appellate authority.

The Madras HC treated the second refund application dated 12.07.2022 as the date of presentation of the statutory appeal under Section 107 of the Tamil Nadu GST Act, taking into account the petitioner's bona fides and the limited monetary stake, and made clear that this indulgence was a one-off measure without precedent. It suo motu impleaded the Deputy Commissioner (ST), GST Appeal II, as the competent appellate authority and directed the Registry to carry out the consequential amendments. The Appellate Authority was directed to hear the matter on merits in accordance with law, without being influenced by the Court's observations, and to dispose of the appeal expeditiously within six weeks.

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Issues: Whether the writ petitioner could be permitted to pursue the refund challenge by treating the second refund application as an appeal under Section 107 of the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and whether the appellate authority could treat 12.07.2022 as the date of presentation for that purpose.

Analysis: The order records that the statutory appellate remedy lay under Section 107 of the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and that the writ petitioner had filed a second refund application within the condonable period. Taking note of the limited refund amount and treating the matter as a one-off case, the order directs that the second refund application be refiled in appeal format before the appellate authority and that it be construed as presented on 12.07.2022. The order also makes it clear that no opinion is expressed on the merits of the refund claim and that the appellate authority must decide the matter independently and in accordance with law.

Outcome: The writ petition was disposed of with directions enabling the petitioner to pursue the appeal before the appellate authority, with the appellate authority to decide it on merits and within the time fixed.

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