Time limit for GST refund

[Mohideen A]

If a taxpayer seeking a GST refund under with payment mode for the period of April 2021. Notification No. 13/2022-Central Tax dated 05-12-2022, excluded the period from 01/03/2020 to 28/02/2022 for calculating the time limit to file refund applications under GST due to COVID-19.

1. In accordance with this notification, can we exclude the period between April 2021 and February 2022 for the purposes of filing a GST refund application?

2. Considering the above notification can the GST refund application for April 2021 be filed by February 2024?

Thanks

AI Summary

Limitation exclusion for GST refund may extend filing deadlines when pandemic period obstructed filing for affected tax periods.
Notification No. 13/2022 excludes the pandemic period from computation of limitation for GST refund applications; practitioners disagree whether that exclusion applies only when the original limitation would have expired within the excluded period or, alternatively, whenever an assessee's statutory filing window was obstructed by the excluded period, thereby extending the available time to file refund claims.