GST refund of recovered demand denied where delayed Tribunal appeal and non-compliance with pre-deposit and undertaking requirements defeat recovery stay.

Refund of tax recovered after an appellate order is not available where the taxpayer files a Tribunal appeal beyond the time contemplated under the GST appellate framework and does not comply with the prescribed pre-deposit and undertaking requirements. The circular-based recovery protection applies only when the taxpayer, within the statutory timeline read with the relevant Removal of Difficulties Order, pays the required pre-deposit and undertakes to file the appeal once the Tribunal becomes operational. Non-compliance prevents treatment of the recovered amount as refundable because refund would effectively bypass the statutory pre-deposit mechanism and the conditions governing stay of recovery.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to refund of the amount recovered pursuant to the appellate order after filing the appeal before the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal beyond the prescribed time, in view of section 112 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and Circular No. 224/18/2024-GST dated 11.07.2024.

Analysis: The recovery guidelines under the circular contemplate stay of the remaining confirmed demand only when the taxpayer, within the timeline prescribed under section 112 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 read with the Central Goods and Services Tax (Ninth Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2019, pays the amount equivalent to pre-deposit and furnishes the requisite undertaking to file the appeal before the Tribunal as and when it becomes operational. The petitioner filed the Tribunal appeal about seven months after the appellate order and did not follow the prescribed procedure. On that footing, the recovered tax amount could not be treated as refundable, since granting refund would in substance amount to waiver of the statutory pre-deposit mechanism.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to refund, and the challenge to the recovery failed.

Final Conclusion: The recovery made pursuant to the appellate order was sustained, and the writ petition stood rejected for non-compliance with the statutory and circular-based procedure governing appeals and stay of recovery.

Ratio Decidendi: Refund of recovered demand is not available where the taxpayer does not comply with the prescribed pre-deposit, undertaking, and limitation requirements for appeal under the governing GST regime.

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