Gujarat HC Orders ₹5.41 Lakh GST Refund With 6% Interest, Treating Late APL-04 Upload As Limitation Start In This Case

The petitioners paid ₹5,41,032 in tax and penalty following interception of a goods vehicle under Section 129 of the CGST Act.

On 28 February 2022, the appellate authority allowed their appeal, set aside the demand and directed a refund, subject to verification of tax liability.

A physical copy of that order was delivered to the petitioners’ authorised person on 8 March 2022; its summary in Form GST APL-04 was uploaded to the GST portal on 3 June 2024.

The petitioners applied for a refund the next day. The refund was rejected as time-barred, and the appeal against that rejection was dismissed.

Whether the relevant date for the two-year limitation period under Section 54(1) was the date the appellate order was physically communicated, or the later date on which its summary was uploaded in Form GST APL-04.

Whether the refund directed by the appellate authority could be denied on limitation grounds in the circumstances of this case, and whether interest was payable.

Section 54(1) of the CGST Act permits a refund application within two years of the “relevant date”; under Explanation 2(d), where a refund results from an appellate order, that date is the date the order is communicated.

Rule 113 and Form GST APL-04 provide for a summary of the appellate order, while Rule 89 and Form GST RFD-01 govern refund applications; neither requires an applicant who has received the order physically to wait for its summary to be uploaded.

Section 56 provides for interest on delayed refunds, including the enhanced rate under its proviso where a refund follows an order that has attained finality.

The Court also relied on the constitutional protections against deprivation of property without authority of law under Article 300A and collection of tax without authority of law under Article 265, and on the principle in Sambhaji v. Gangabai that procedural rules should facilitate, not obstruct, justice.

The Court held that the ordinary relevant date was 8 March 2022, when the appellate order itself was physically communicated; the later APL-04 summary was not ordinarily the communication of the order, and the petitioners could have applied using the offline-order option in Form GST RFD-01.

The two-year period would therefore have expired on 8 March 2024, before the application was filed.

However, the appellate authority had expressly directed the refund, the summary was uploaded only on 3 June 2024, and the petitioners applied the following day.

In these particular circumstances, the Court treated 3 June 2024 as the relevant date for this refund claim, reasoning that the delayed upload should not defeat the appellate relief or permit continued retention of an amount no longer supported by the demand.

On interest, it directed 6% from 15 August 2024, with a higher rate applying if the refund directions were not implemented within the prescribed period.

If the portal did not permit processing, the petitioners could file a fresh offline application.

The refund was to be paid with interest at 6% from 15 August 2024, within 12 weeks; failing compliance, interest at 9% per annum would apply after that period.