Reasoned refund rejection required: non-speaking orders that ignore assessee submissions are liable to be set aside and remanded.

A refund rejection must be supported by a reasoned, speaking order that deals with the assessee's written reply and oral submissions. Where the authority records no specific finding on the material placed before it, the rejection is vitiated as a non-speaking order and cannot stand. The Bombay HC therefore quashed the impugned order and remanded the refund proceedings for de novo consideration and a fresh order after hearing both sides.

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Issues: Whether the refund rejection order could be sustained when it recorded no specific finding on the assessee's reply and submissions, and whether the matter required remand for fresh consideration.

Analysis: The petition challenged rejection of refund on the ground that the appellate authority did not deal with the assessee's written reply or oral submissions and did not record any specific finding before rejecting the claim. The Court noted the consistent view taken in similar matters that a refund rejection must be supported by a reasoned and speaking order. Since the impugned order did not contain a specific finding on the material placed by the assessee, it suffered from the vice of a non-speaking order and could not stand.

Conclusion: The impugned order was quashed and set aside, and the refund proceedings were remanded for de novo consideration and a fresh order after hearing the parties.

Ratio Decidendi: A refund rejection that does not record specific findings on the assessee's reply and submissions is a non-speaking order liable to be set aside, and the matter must be remanded for fresh, reasoned adjudication.

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