Decision / Observations
[Order of the Hon'ble High Court of Calcutta, dated 30.07.2025, in M.A.T. no. 104 of 2024]
The statutory time limit of 60 days as stipulated in Section 54(7) of the CGST Act is mandatory. Non-compliance with such time limit vitiates the refund rejection order. Therefore, the Department was directed to refund the entire claim with interest. With this, the earlier decision of the single member bench in the same case (that the time limit under Section 54(7) ibid was only directory in nature) stands reversed.
Similarly, the issuance of acknowledgement for the refund application - two days beyond the time limit prescribed under Rule 90(2) of the CGST Rules - shows that there could not be any allegation of the application being incomplete in any respect. That is, the proper officer loses his right to point out any deficiencies in the refund claim. Accordingly, in such cases, the refund application is assumed to be complete in all respects. This position was held by the Hon'ble Delhi High Court vide judgment dated 22.07.2020 in W.P. (C) no. 4205 of 2020.
Comments
The aforesaid decision(s) reinforce that authorities should strictly adhere to the time limits prescribed for the respective proceedings under the statute. Failure to adhere may result in the proper officer losing the right to sustain proceedings against the taxable person.
