Order Rejecting Refund Application to Be Set Aside as Deficiency Memo in Form GST RFD-03 Was Not Issued to Petitioner | HC

Case Details: Raiden Infotech India (P.) Ltd. vs. State of Maharashtra - [2025] 171 taxmann.com 280 (Bombay)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• M.S. Sonak & Jitendra Jain, JJ.
• Darius B. Shroff, Sr. Adv., Jasmine Dixit & Mahir C., Advs. for the Petitioner.
• Amar Mishra, AGP for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The assessee, a petitioner seeking a refund of accumulated input tax credit (ITC) under the GST regime, filed a refund application. The proper officer raised concerns about deficiencies in the application and issued a show cause notice (SCN) to the petitioner. However, the petitioner failed to respond to the SCN or attend the scheduled personal hearing. Consequently, the refund application was rejected in Form GST RFD-06. Aggrieved by the rejection order, the petitioner filed a writ petition before the Bombay High Court, challenging the decision on the grounds that no deficiency memo in Form GST RFD-03 had been issued, and that procedural fairness had been violated.

High Court Held

The Hon’ble Bombay High Court observed that the deficiency memo in Form GST RFD-03 may not have been issued to the petitioner and the petitioner failed to respond to the show cause notice or attend the personal hearing which led to the rejection of the refund application. The Court held that the petitioner must accept responsibility for not availing the opportunities provided to address the deficiencies. The refund application was restored, subject to the petitioner paying a cost of Rs. 2,00,000 within 4 weeks.

List of Cases Reviewed

• Knowledge Capital Services (P.) Ltd. v. Union of India [2023] 150 taxmann.com 515/ 74 GSTL 186/98 GST 298 (Bombay) (para 9) followed.

List of Cases Referred to

• M/s Knowledge Capital Services Private Limited v. Union of India and Ors. Writ Petition No. 61 of 2023 (para 4).