The High Court allowed the petition and quashed the impugned...

The High Court allowed the petition and quashed the impugned order rejecting the petitioner's refund application for unutilized input tax credit. The court held that the Notification No. 14/2022 amending Rule 89(5) of the GST Rules is clarificatory and curative in nature, rectifying the anomaly in the refund formula. Relying on Supreme Court precedents, the court ruled that such a clarificatory amendment operates retrospectively. Therefore, the amended Rule 89(5) would apply to refund or rectification applications filed within the two-year period u/s 54(1) of the GST Act, irrespective of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) circular restricting its applicability prospectively. Denying retrospective benefit would discriminate against assessees who applied for refunds before the amendment's issuance. The court quashed the circular's clarification treating the amendment as prospective and allowed the petitioner's refund claim based on the rectified formula.