2024 (1) TMI 31 - HC - GST

Tax Refund Claim Under Section 54(1) Dismissed Due to Untimely Application and Unreasonable Delay in Filing Petition

HC of Patna dismissed writ petition seeking tax refund under Section 54(1) of Bihar GST Act. Court rejected the claim due to untimely application and ... Refund claim and limitation under Section 54(1) of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 - time barred refund applications - discretion to extend limitation for refund applicationsRefund claim and limitation under Section 54(1) of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 - time barred refund applications - Whether the writ petition can be entertained to direct acceptance of a refund application lodged beyond the two year period prescribed by Section 54(1). - HELD THAT: - The Court recorded that Section 54(1) prescribes a two year period from the relevant date within which an application for refund must be made in the prescribed form and manner. The petitioner admittedly did not file the refund application within that statutory period for the tax periods 2017 18 and 2018 19, pleading a dispute with the counter party as the reason for delay. The Court found the stated reason not to be a satisfactory ground for extending the limitation and held that the limitation prescribed by Section 54(1) could not be extended in the circumstances. The petition therefore raised no ground to invoke writ jurisdiction to compel the department to open the portal or accept a physical application outside the statutory period. [Paras 2, 3]Writ petition dismissed; no direction to accept or entertain the refund application filed beyond the two year period under Section 54(1).Final Conclusion: The High Court dismissed the petition seeking acceptance of the refund application for 2017 18 and 2018 19 because the application was not filed within the two year period prescribed by Section 54(1) of the Bihar GST Act, 2017, and the asserted reason for delay did not warrant extension of the limitation. The High Court of Patna dismissed a writ petition seeking refund for the period 2017-18 and 2018-19 under Section 54(1) of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 due to failure to apply within the specified time frame. The court found the reason for delay unreasonable and refused to extend the limitation period. The petition was not entertained and was dismissed.