Court :
Supreme Court of India
Brief :
The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Assistant Commissioner of Central Taxes v. Gemini Edibles and Fats India Ltd. [SLP Appeal (C) Nos. 12495-12498 of 2025 dated May 09, 2025], dismissed the Special Leave Petition ("SLP") against the Hon'ble Andhra Pradesh High Court ruling where refund claims for Input Tax Claimed ("ITC") accrued before July 18, 2022 could not be denied solely because they were filed after said date, as Notification No. 9/2022-Central Tax (Rate) dated July 13, 2022("the Impugned Notification") applies prospectively. Thus, Circular No. 181/13/2022-GST dated November 10, 2022("the Impugned Circular") rejecting refund was to be struck down to that extent, and refund rejection orders were to be set aside.
Citation :
SLP Appeal (C) Nos. 12495-12498 of 2025 dated May 09, 2025
The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Assistant Commissioner of Central Taxes v. Gemini Edibles and Fats India Ltd. [SLP Appeal (C) Nos. 12495-12498 of 2025 dated May 09, 2025], dismissed the Special Leave Petition ("SLP") against the Hon'ble Andhra Pradesh High Court ruling where refund claims for Input Tax Claimed ("ITC") accrued before July 18, 2022 could not be denied solely because they were filed after said date, as Notification No. 9/2022-Central Tax (Rate) dated July 13, 2022("the Impugned Notification") applies prospectively. Thus, Circular No. 181/13/2022-GST dated November 10, 2022("the Impugned Circular") rejecting refund was to be struck down to that extent, and refund rejection orders were to be set aside.
Gemini Edibles and Fats India Limited ("the Petitioner") wasengaged in the business of manufacturing, distributing and branding of edible oils and specialty fats in India. In the process of the manufacture of these products, the Petitioner had sourced various raw materials on which GST had already been paid. It was so transpired that the rate of GST that was payable on edible oils and specialty fats was lower than the rate of tax levied on the inputs or raw materials sourced by the Petitioner.
The Petitioners, on the ground that their products fall under the category of Inverted Duty Structure ("ISD"), had filed applications for refund of the ITC, under Section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 ("the CGST Act") for the periods prior to July 18, 2022. These applications were rejected in various writ petitions.
Though, the general scheme of Section 54 of the CGST Act, provided for refund of such, ITC in cash, certain products were deemed ineligible for such benefit. The Central Government, from time to time, has been issuing notifications listing out the products which are ineligible for the benefit of Section 54 of CGST Act. One such notification issued by the Central Government is Notification No. 5/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated June 28, 2017. Subsequently, the Impugned Notification was issued.
In the Impugned Notification, the Government included various types of edible oils and specialty fats. By such inclusion, the manufacturers/sellers of such products become ineligible for grant of refund, under Section 54 of the CGST Act.
Resultantly, the Petitioners had become ineligible for grant of refund, under Section 54 of the CGST Act, from July 18, 2022 onwards, on account of the Impugned Circular interpreting the Impugned Notification in a particular manner.
Hence, aggrieved by the Impugned Notification, as well as the Impugned Circular, the Petitioners filed the present writ petition challenging the Impugned Notification.
The Hon'ble Andhra Pradesh High Court in Writ Petition No. 12485/2024 held as under:
Now, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in SLP Appeal (C) Nos. 12495-12498 of 2025, held that they are not inclined to interfere with the Andhra Pradesh High Court in Gemini Edibles and Fats India Limited v. The Assistant Commissioner of Central Taxes and Others[Writ Petition No. 12485/2024 dated January 29, 2025] ("Impugned Judgment"). Therefore, the present special leave petitions are dismissed. Any pending application(s) shall stand disposed of accordingly.
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