Refund limitation under GST relates back to the original claim after defects are cured, not the refiled application date.

For limitation under Section 54 of the CGST Act and the corresponding SGST Act, a refund application refiled after defects are pointed out under Rule 90(3) of the CGST Rules is to be treated as relating back to the date of the original refund claim. Rule 90(3) requires a fresh application after deficiencies are cured, but it does not create a new filing date for computing limitation under Section 54. The corrected application therefore continues the original claim rather than restarting the limitation period, and rejection of the refund as time-barred by reference to the second application date was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether, for the purpose of limitation under Section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, a fresh refund application filed after rectification of deficiencies under Rule 90(3) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 must be treated as filed on the date of the original application.

Analysis: Section 54 permits a refund claim to be made within the prescribed period from the relevant date. Rule 90(3) requires a fresh application after deficiencies in the original refund application are pointed out, but the rule does not provide that the date of the fresh application becomes the operative date for computing limitation under Section 54. The statutory scheme therefore supports treatment of the corrected application as continuing from the original refund claim, rather than as a new claim attracting a fresh limitation bar.

Conclusion: The rejection of the refund claim as time-barred on the basis of the second application date was unsustainable, and the refund application had to be treated as filed on the date of the original application.

Ratio Decidendi: A fresh refund application filed after removal of defects under Rule 90(3) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 does not reset limitation under Section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

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