THE TOP COURT SET ASIDE DELHI HC's ORDER OF ALLOWING A GST REFUND TO BHARTI AIRTEL

The Supreme Court heard an appeal by the Central Government against an order of the Delhi High Court. The Delhi HC granted a Goods and Services Tax refund of ₹923 crores to telecom operator Bharti Airtel.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel sought a GST refund, arguing that it paid an excess tax of ₹923 crores for the period between July and September 2017, as the GSTR-2A form was non-operational. They further argued that the summary return form was introduced in the absence of the GSTR 2 and 3, and it did not let validation before uploading. 

The Delhi HC allowed the Telecom operator to seek a GST refund and directed the government to verify the excess GST claimed by Bharti Airtel. In July 2020, the Central Government challenged the decision of the HC.

Today, the SC ruled that Bharti Airtel under-reported input tax credit between the period of July 2017 and September 2017. The Bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari further agreed with the government's argument that any activity contrary to the statutory mandate would not result only in illegality but "would simply lead to a chaotic situation and collapse of the tax administration of the states and UTs. 

The Apex court further noted that the order issued by the HC to rectify Form GSTR­-3B could not be maintained.

Author: Papiha Ghoshal