SALES TAX BAR ASSOCIATION Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Sales Tax Bar Association has preferred the present writ petition raising several issues in relation to the difficulties being faced in entertainment, processing and allowance of the refund claims made under Section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, read with Section 16 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act. Petitioners urge that refunds are not being acknowledged, processed and granted in terms of the aforesaid Acts and the Rules framed thereunder.

(2.) The grievance of the petitioners is also that the statutory mechanism created for entertaining refund claims is not being implemented, and that there are some inherent lacunas in the scheme formulated by the respondents to process the refund claims.

(3.) We have heard the submissions of the Learned Counsel for the petitioners, as well as the Learned Counsel for the respondent Nos. 3, 5 and 7. At the first call, there was no representation on behalf of respondent No. 4 and we therefore passed over the matter. At this stage, Ms. Nidhi Mohan Parashar, advocate, who represents the respondent No. 4 in other similar cases, has appeared and accepts notice on behalf of respondent No. 4.