Calcutta High Court Remands IGST Ocean Freight Refund Dispute Over Illegible Bills of Lading:

Calcutta High Court Remands IGST Ocean Freight Refund Dispute Over Illegible Bills of Lading The Calcutta High Court remanded the IGST ocean freight refund dispute to the appellate authority for fresh consideration, directing it to allow the petitioner to submit legible Bills of Lading and supporting documents and to complete reconsideration of the refund claim within one month. Indorama India Private Limited (petitioner) had furnished a refund application dated December 28, 2022, for availing a refund amounting to Rs 72.31 lakh of integrated goods and services tax (IGST) paid to the ocean freight component for imports that took place from June 1, 2018, to June 30, 2018. In support of its claim, the petitioner also referenced an earlier judgement of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in a case titled Union of India vs M/s Mohit Minerals Private Limited.

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Originally, the refund sanctioning authority had allowed the refund claim through an order dated February 24, 2023. However, the tax authorities, being dissatisfied challenged the order before the appellate authority under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act (CGST), 2017. The appellate authority held in favour of the tax authorities by allowing the appeal on the grounds that there was no clear finding on whether the shipping lines involved were foreign or Indian shipping lines. It also observed that the Bill of Lading submitted by the company was not legible enough to verify the claim.

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Now, the petitioner has filed a writ petition before the Calcutta High Court. During the personal hearing before the court, the petitioner stated that it was satisfactory to provide clear and legible copies of the Bill of Lading and other supporting documents. Justice Smita Das De held that the petitioner should be given an opportunity to submit these documents so that the matter could be reconsidered on merits. Accordingly, the High Court remanded the case to the appellate authority for fresh consideration and directed them to complete the proceedings within a time limit of one month.