Refund can’t be denied for portal upload limits shipping bill size issue won’t defeat substantive compliance {Jyoti Agro vs. Deputy Commissioner of State Tax [2026] 182 taxmann.com 630 (Gujarat HC)}
Facts of the Case
- The petitioner Jyoti Agro filed a GST refund claim related to export of goods.
- As per Circular No. 125/44/2019-GST, shipping bills were required to be uploaded on the GST portal.
- Due to portal size limitations, the shipping bills could not be uploaded.
- Petitioner submitted hard copies of the shipping bills.
- The department refused to accept hard copies and rejected the refund application for non-compliance with the circular guidelines.
- It was undisputed that exports had actually taken place and all substantive conditions for refund were fulfilled.
Issue
Whether a GST refund claim can be rejected only because shipping bills could not be uploaded on the portal due to size constraints, despite fulfillment of substantive conditions for refund?
Held
- The Court held that refund cannot be denied on procedural or technical grounds.
- Petitioner had satisfied the substantive requirements for refund.
- Portal upload limitations are a technical difficulty and taxpayers should not suffer due to system constraints.
- Circular guidelines are procedural in nature and cannot override substantive rights.
- Rejection of refund solely for non-upload of shipping bills was unsustainable in law.
- The department was directed to process the refund claim.
