Taxpayer Wins: Authorities Must Verify Tax Records, Process Refund, and Resolve Registration Discrepancy Within Specified Timeframe

HC found merit in petitioner's refund claim against tax authorities. Directed respondents to verify GSTR 2A form within one week, process refund within two weeks, and resolve GSTN registration status discrepancy. Court mandated compliance and scheduled follow-up hearing, highlighting potential systemic technical issues in tax processing.

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Issues:
- Petitioner seeking refund and rectification of GSTN status

Analysis:
The petitioner filed a petition seeking a writ of mandamus to direct the respondents to refund a specific amount along with interest and rectify the petitioner's suspended status in the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN). The petitioner claimed that its refund had not been processed due to the incorrect reflection of its GSTN registration as suspended by the respondents. The petitioner had applied for a refund three times, with rejections citing reasons such as the GSTN being suspended and incomplete supporting documents. However, the petitioner contended that all necessary documents, including form GSTR 2A, were duly submitted. The respondents argued that although the form GSTR 2A was uploaded in PDF format, it was not in the correct form, leading to processing issues. The petitioner had approached the authorities, who confirmed the discrepancy between the visible active registration and the backend suspended status, hindering the refund process.

The court noted discrepancies in the respondents' arguments, as the counter affidavit did not specify any deficiencies in the uploaded form GSTR 2A. The form GSTR 2A is system-generated, and while the respondents claimed certain columns were blank, the petitioner asserted that all relevant details were present in the uploaded scanned copy. The court directed the respondents to verify if the form GSTR 2A displayed by the petitioner contained all necessary information, indicating a potential technical error in the respondents' system. If a problem was identified, the respondents were instructed to resolve it within a week and process the refund application within two weeks based on the forms already submitted. In case of any inability to process the refund, the respondents were required to inform the petitioner accordingly. The matter was listed for compliance on a specified date, with the court's order to be served through the Court Master's signature.

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