2026 (3) TMI 1307 - HC - GST

Refund appeal must be reheard on merits after allowing legible supporting documents to cure evidentiary defects.

Where a refund appeal is rejected because the supporting record is illegible or otherwise inadequate, fairness requires the appellate authority to give ... Entitlement to an opportunity before the appellate authority to produce a legible copy of the Bill of Lading and other required documents - Violation of Principle of Natural Justice - Rejection of the refund. Opportunity to produce material documents - HELD THAT: - The appellate authority had allowed the departmental appeal on the ground that the Bill of Lading relied upon by the petitioner was not legible and, therefore, the claim regarding the shipping line could not be substantiated. The Court held that, in the facts of the case, the petitioner should be afforded an opportunity to place a legible copy of the Bill of Lading and any other necessary documents before the appellate authority, so that the matter could be reconsidered afresh on merits. [Paras 6, 7] The appellate authority was directed to reconsider the appeal after giving the petitioner an opportunity to produce a legible copy of the Bill of Lading and other required documents. Final Conclusion: The writ petition was disposed of by directing the appellate authority to reconsider the refund appeal on merits after granting the petitioner an opportunity to file a legible copy of the Bill of Lading and other necessary documents. Issues: Whether the petitioner should be afforded an to produce a legible copy of the Bill of Lading and supporting documents before the appellate authority decides the refund appeal afresh.Analysis: The appellate authority rejected the refund on the ground that the record did not satisfactorily establish whether the shipping lines involved were foreign or Indian, and relied on the illegibility of the Bill of Lading to doubt the claim. The petitioner expressed readiness to produce a legible copy of the document before the appellate authority. In these facts, fairness required that the petitioner be given an opportunity to place the relevant material so that the appeal could be examined on the basis of complete and legible documents and decided on merits.Conclusion: The petitioner is entitled to produce a legible Bill of Lading and other necessary documents, and the appellate authority must reconsider the appeal afresh and conclude it within the time directed.Ratio Decidendi: Where a refund appeal is rejected for want of legible or adequate supporting documents, the appellate authority must afford a reasonable opportunity to cure the deficiency and decide the matter afresh on merits.