IGST refund on export claims through foreign post offices remained unresolved due to missing processing mechanism.

Refund entitlement for IGST on exports through foreign post offices was noted to arise under Section 16(3) of the IGST Act read with Rule 96 of the CGST Rules, but the Court did not finally decide whether the claim for the pre-operational period could be processed. It recorded the absence of an effective refund mechanism for that period and the competing positions of the authorities on which office should process the claim. The matter was left open for further reporting and hearing, with no final adjudication on the refund claim.

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Issues: Whether refund of IGST on exports made through foreign post offices for the period prior to the operational refund procedure could be processed under Section 16(3) of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and Rule 96 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, and whether the customs authorities were justified in declining to process the claim for want of a prescribed mechanism.

Outcome: The matter was not finally adjudicated. The Court noticed the statutory refund entitlement, the absence of an effective processing mechanism for the relevant period, and the competing stand of the authorities as to which office should process the claim. Further steps were to be reported, and the matter was listed for further hearing.

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