No Upload, No Refund—Bombay HC Dismisses Laxmi Organic’s Petition

Image Source: Trade Brains

Bombay High Court has dismissed a writ petition of Laxmi Organic Industries Ltd against the Ministry of Shipping and Directorate of Customs Logistics (MSCDCL) in a milestone verdict in a longpending litigation in terms of GST refund guidelines.

Key Points:

The Dispute: Laxmi Organic had objected to the rejection of its manually lodged GST refund claims for FY 2018–19 and 2019–20. The company argued that technical glitches on the GST portal did not permit it to upload "Statement 5B" of compulsory documents for claiming refunds.
The Petition: The writ, which was filed in 2021, requested relief from prohibitions on the manual filing of refund claims under the Rule 97A of the CGST Rules that permit manual filing under certain conditions.
The Verdict: The court upheld the government's stance that refund applications must be submitted online through the GST portal, as per Circular No. 125/44/2019GST. It held that the circular was not ultra vires and that the offline applications made by Laxmi Organic were rightfully rejected.
Implications: The acquittal further strengthens the government's push towards digital compliance and sets a precedent for other refund cases of a similar nature. It also highlights the importance of making ontime and accurate digital filings in GST transactions.

While Laxmi Organic may resort to further litigation, the judgment reaffirms the judiciary's commitment to standardized, technologyfacilitated tax administration.

Sources: Indian Kanoon, TaxGuru, CaseMine.