Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Vvivers India Private Limited, an exporter, challenged appellate orders dated 09.08.2024 rejecting its refund claims relating to zero-rated exports made between December 2022 and May 2023 under Section 16(1) of the IGST Act, 2017. Multiple notices proposing rejection of the refund applications, dated between 13.03.2023 and 07.08.2023, were never visible to the petitioner in the usual course, and it was only on 20.01.2024 that all the refund applications, show cause notices and rejection orders were uploaded together on the portal. The petitioner's subsequent appeal against the rejection orders was itself dismissed by the impugned appellate orders.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether refund rejection notices uploaded only on the portal's 'additional notices tab' prior to the January 2024 portal reconfiguration constitute effective service, given they were not readily visible to assessees.
  2. Whether the resultant appellate rejection of the refund claims, made without the petitioner ever having had a real opportunity to reply, is sustainable.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • Being an exporter, the petitioner's refund of tax already deposited at the time of export was being unnecessarily delayed without proper departmental action.
  • The Department had not clarified whether any email was sent communicating the SCN or the rejection orders, meaning the appeals against them could not fairly have been expected to be filed with the petitioner having no knowledge of the underlying notices.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The Department submitted that the show cause notices had been uploaded on the 'additional notices tab' of the GST portal in the ordinary course.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court took judicial notice that notices uploaded on the 'additional notices tab' prior to 16th January 2024 were not readily visible on the GST portal unless a party was specifically familiar with that tab's placement, and such uploading may therefore have gone unnoticed, as appeared to have happened here.
  • Since the refund applications had effectively been rejected without hearing the petitioner, it was permitted to file replies to the rejection notices by 30th September 2025.
  • The Adjudicating Authority must hear the petitioner on all refund applications and take a fresh view, passing refund orders by 30th November 2025 given these pertain to 2022-23, with statutory interest directed if any refund is allowed.

Important Clarification

  • GST refund-rejection notices uploaded only on the portal's 'additional notices tab' before the mid-January 2024 reconfiguration are treated as having gone unnoticed by ordinary exporters/assessees, justifying a fresh opportunity to reply rather than treating the appeal period as having validly run.
  • Where refunds relate to an earlier financial year, courts may fix a tight, specific timeline (here, roughly four months) for the department to conclude the fresh consideration and pass orders, with statutory interest to follow if refund is ultimately allowed.

Sections Involved

  • Section 16(1), IGST Act, 2017 - zero-rated supply.
  • Section 54, CGST Act, 2017 - refund of tax.
  • Section 169, CGST Act, 2017 - modes of service of notice.

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of with directions, in part in favour of the petitioner - fresh consideration of refund claims directed with a fixed deadline.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Delhi at New Delhi
  • Case No.: W.P.(C) 2482/2025
  • Coram: Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Shail Jain
  • Date: 7th August, 2025

Link to Download the Order

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