SEZ unit is eligible to claim refund of unutilized Input Tax Credit: Madras HC

Case Details: Platinum Holdings (P.) Ltd. v. Additional Commissioner of GST & Central Excise, Chennai - [2021] 131 taxmann.com 142 (Madras)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• • Dr. Anita Sumanth, J.
  • P.B. Harish for the Petitioner.
  • R. Hemalatha for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner was a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and made purchases from several suppliers/vendors for the development of the SEZ. The petitioner filed applications for refund of the taxes and it was held that the petitioner was not entitled to the refund on the ground that only a supplier of services would be entitled to claim refund and not the SEZ itself. It filed appeal and the appeal was also rejected. The petitioner filed writ petition.

High Court Held

The Honorable High Court observed that Section 54 of GST Act read with Rule 89 of CGST Rules permits any entity to seek a refund of taxes or other amounts paid under provisions of the Act. The only exclusion is of the person covered under a notification issued under Section 55, admittedly inapplicable to the petitioner. Therefore, it was held that the application filed for refund of taxes paid under Act would be maintainable if it would be established that no such claim has been made by supplier, and tax has been remitted to treasury. Thus, the authority would be entitled to seek and obtain all information or any relevant documentary evidence in support of the claim.