Govt Must Clear Duty Drawback and IGST Refund Claims Within 3 Months for Eligible Businesses

HC ruled in favor of petitioner, directing respondents to process Duty Drawback and IGST refund claims within three months. The court noted claims had been pending for years despite meeting procedural requirements. Senior Standing Counsel confirmed withdrawal of previous restrictions, enabling claim processing. Petition disposed with directive for expedited resolution without cost implications.

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Issues involved:
The issues involved in the judgment are the petitioner's claim for Duty Drawback under Section 74/75 of the Customs Act, 1962, and refund claim under Section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, related to the export of utensils.

Duty Drawback and Refund Claim:
The petitioner, an exporter of utensils, filed a Duty Drawback under Section 74/75 of the Customs Act, 1962, and a refund claim under Section 54 of the CGST Act, 2017, for the IGST paid on raw materials used in the exported utensils. The respondents declined to process the claims citing an impugned circular dated 23.01.2020 (Circular No.131//2020-GST). The petitioner argued that the verification process, supposed to be completed within fourteen working days as per the circular, had not been done even after three years since filing the claims. Consequently, the petitioner filed a writ petition seeking relief.

Non-Processing of Claims:
The petitioner stated that despite providing all required details, the refund and Duty Drawback claims remained unprocessed by the respondents. The petitioner also mentioned in an affidavit that their IEC Number was suspended as per instructions received, leading to further delays in processing the claims.

Response of Senior Central Government Standing Counsel:
The Senior Central Government Standing Counsel representing respondents 2 to 4 informed the court that the red alert against the petitioner had been withdrawn. They further stated that there was no current restriction on processing the Refund claims and Duty Drawback claims for the IGST refund and Duty Drawback under Section 74/75 of the Customs Act, 1962, filed by the petitioner.

Court's Decision:
After considering the submissions and communication from the Senior Central Government Standing Counsel, the court directed the fourth respondent to process the Refund claims and Duty Drawback claim of the petitioner expeditiously within three months from the date of the order. The writ petition was disposed of with these directions, and no costs were awarded. Connected miscellaneous petitions were also closed accordingly.

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