Refund of Unutilised Input Tax Credit: allowing refunds on business closure challenges statutory limits and established precedent.
Whether the procedural refund enabling clause creates a standalone substantive right to recover unutilised Input Tax Credit on business closure is disputed. The author contends the refund provision's exclusionary language confines refunds to a closed class, and that treating procedural language as granting broader refund entitlement renders the specific limitation redundant, breaches rules of strict construction and harmonious interpretation, and risks fiscal abuse by allowing encashment of credits not authorised by statutory refund categories. (AI Summary)