Page 44 - GSTL_23rd April 2020_Vol 35_Part 4

370 GST LAW TIMES [ Vol. 35
tial amount of duty drawback for the period from July to Septem-
ber, 2017 along with appropriate interest on such refund amount;
(B) Pending notice, admission and final hearing of this petition, this
Hon’ble Court may be pleased to direct the Learned Respondents to
forthwith [grant] refund of IGST paid on exports by the Petitioners
after deducting the differential amount of duty drawback for the
period from July to September, 2017 along with appropriate interest
on such refund amount;
(C) Ex parte ad interim relief in terms of prayer B may kindly be granted;
(D) Such further relief(s) as deemed fit in the facts and circumstances of
the case may kindly be granted in the interest of justice for which
act of kindness your petitioners shall forever pray.”
3. The facts giving rise to this litigation may be summarized as under :
3.1 The Writ-Applicant No. 1 is a Private Limited Company. The Writ-
Applicant No. 2 is one of the Directors and Authorized Signatory of the compa-
ny. The writ-applicants are engaged in the business of trading of cotton yarn and
cotton waste. The writ-applicants are registered under the Cen-
tral/Gujarat/Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (for short ‘the GST
Act’).
3.2 The writ-applicants claim to be the exporters of the cotton yarn and
waste. With the introduction of the GST regime in the country, from 1-7-2017, the
exports were declared as the “zero-rated supplies” under the provisions of the
Act. In other words, all the export transactions were exempted from any tax lia-
bility under the GST Act.
3.3 According to the writ-applicants, Section 16 of the IGST Act gives
two options to the exporters for claiming refund of the tax. Section 16(3) of the
IGST Act reads thus :
“(3) A registered person making zero-rated supply shall be eligible to
claim refund under either of the following options, namely :-
(a) he may supply goods or services or both under bond or Letter
of Undertaking, subject to such conditions, safeguards and
procedure as may be prescribed, without payment of integrat-
ed tax and claim refund of unutilised input tax credit; or
(b) he may supply goods or services or both, subject to such con-
ditions, safeguards and procedure as may be prescribed, on
payment of integrated tax and claim refund of such tax paid
on goods or services or both supplied, in accordance with the
provisions of section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax
Act or the rules made thereunder.”
3.4 The plain reading of the aforesaid provision makes it clear that the
first option available to the exporter is to make the export without payment of
tax against the bond or letter of undertaking in which case it could claim refund
of the unutilized input tax credit. The second option is to supply goods or ser-
vices on payment of the integrated tax and claim refund of such tax paid.
3.5 According to the writ-applicants, they obtained the letter of under-
taking from the department for availing the option of making exports without
payment of tax. The letter of undertaking dated 27-11-2017 is at Annexure-A
(page No. 14 of the paper-book).

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