Non-speaking refund rejection in GST export of services dispute set aside, with fresh speaking order required after hearing.

A refund rejection under the GST export of services regime was set aside because the order contained no specific finding on the claim, merely reproduced the service agreement, and failed to consider the assessee's reply or the contention that the recipient was a distinct person and the services were exports. The court held that such non-application of mind amounted to a non-speaking order. The matter was remanded for de novo reconsideration, with the authority directed to pass a reasoned speaking order after affording an effective hearing.

---

---

Issues: Whether the order rejecting the refund claim was liable to be quashed for being a non-speaking order passed without considering the assessee's reply and without recording specific findings, and whether the matter should be remanded for fresh adjudication after hearing.

Analysis: The refund claim arose under the GST refund regime for export of services. The order under challenge was found to contain no specific finding on the refund claim and to have merely reproduced clauses of the service agreement, without dealing with the assessee's detailed reply or the core contention that the recipient was a distinct person and that the services constituted export of services. In these circumstances, the rejection of refund was held to suffer from non-application of mind and from the vice of a non-speaking order. The proper course was to require a reasoned and speaking determination after affording an effective opportunity of hearing.

Conclusion: The order rejecting refund was quashed and the matter was remanded for de novo consideration with a fresh speaking order after hearing the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The refund dispute was not decided on merits, and the authority was directed to reconsider the claim afresh in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: A refund rejection that records no specific finding on the claim and does not consider the assessee's reply is liable to be set aside, and the matter must be reconsidered by passing a reasoned speaking order after affording a proper hearing.

---