Omitted GST refund rule cannot sustain pending proceedings; show-cause notice and order-in-original were quashed.

Omission of Rule 89(4B) of the CGST Rules by Notification No. 20/2024-Central Tax was treated as applying to pending GST refund proceedings where final adjudication had not been completed, in the absence of any saving clause. Following earlier co-ordinate bench views on analogous refund provisions, proceedings still pending before the adjudicating authority or under challenge in court were not treated as closed transactions. On that basis, action founded on the omitted rule could not survive, and the show-cause notice and order-in-original were quashed, with the refund claim to be processed in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the impugned show-cause notice and order-in-original could survive after omission of Rule 89(4B) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 by Notification No. 20/2024-Central Tax dated 08.10.2024, in the absence of any saving clause.

Analysis: The omission of the rule was treated as applicable to pending proceedings where final adjudication had not taken place. In view of the settled position already adopted in earlier co-ordinate bench decisions on analogous GST refund provisions, proceedings that were still pending before the adjudicating authority or under challenge before the Court were not regarded as transactions past and closed. Consequently, the impugned action based on the omitted rule could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The impugned show-cause notice and order-in-original were quashed and set aside, and the petitioner was entitled to the refund claim to be processed in accordance with law.

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