COVID-19 limitation orders extended IGST refund time limit, making the late filing within the protected period admissible.

A refund claim filed after expiry of the ordinary limitation period was treated as timely because the Supreme Court's COVID-19 limitation orders excluded the period from 15 March 2020 to 28 February 2022 and preserved the remaining limitation period from 1 March 2022, with a minimum of 90 days where limitation had already expired during the excluded period. On that basis, the IGST refund application filed on 12 April 2022 was not time-barred, and rejection on limitation grounds was unsustainable.

---

---

Issues: Whether the refund application for IGST, filed after the ordinary limitation period, was still within time by reason of the Supreme Court's COVID-19 orders excluding limitation.

Analysis: The normal limitation for filing the refund claim had expired on 30.03.2022, but the application was filed on 12.04.2022. The Supreme Court's directions excluded the period from 15.03.2020 to 28.02.2022 for limitation purposes in all judicial and quasi-judicial proceedings and also made the balance period available from 01.03.2022, with a minimum available period of 90 days where limitation had expired during the excluded period. On that basis, the refund claim fell within the extended time available under the Supreme Court's directions.

Conclusion: The refund application was not barred by limitation and the rejection on that ground was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The assessee's appeals succeeded and the refund claim remained admissible with consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: A limitation period applicable to a refund claim stands extended in terms of the Supreme Court's general COVID-19 limitation orders, and a filing made within the protected period cannot be rejected as time-barred.

---