The Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition seeking release of IGST refunds worth Rs. 1.19 crore, holding that no refund could be granted as the petitioner’s GST registration had been cancelled retrospectively from 2018.
The bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Shail Jain also imposed costs of ₹25,000 on the petitioner for concealing material facts.
The petitioner, an exporter with a valid Import Export Code (IEC) since 2019, alleged that despite fulfilling export obligations and filing shipping bills, its IGST refund was withheld after being classified as a “risky exporter” by the CGST Audit-1 Commissionerate in February 2020.
Earlier, the petitioner had filed W.P.(C) 6388/2020 challenging the withholding of refunds, which was later withdrawn in May 2023 with liberty to approach the Court afresh. However, the High Court observed that the petitioner failed to disclose that its GST registration had already been cancelled with retrospective effect from July 13, 2018, through an order dated February 27, 2023.
The Court noted that the petitioner had also not attended the personal hearing scheduled by the tax authorities on July 22, 2025, and had suppressed crucial facts. Referring to adverse verification reports from the Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management (DGARM) and the jurisdictional CGST authority, the Court observed that the petitioner did not appear to be a bonafide exporter.
“When the GST registration itself has been cancelled in 2018, obviously, no refund can be granted till the said GST registration of the Petitioner is restored,” the bench stated.
Dismissing the writ petition, the Court directed the petitioner to deposit Rs. 25,000 with the Delhi High Court Bar Association by August 28, 2025, and clarified that it was free to pursue remedies for restoration of GST registration and thereafter seek refunds in accordance with law.
Case Details
Case Title: Shree Radhe Vallabh Traders Versus Commissioner Central Goods And Service Tax, Delhi East Commissionerate, New Delhi
Case No.: W.P.(C) 6768/2023
Date: 24/07/2025
Counsel For Petitioner: Akhil Krishan Maggu
Counsel For Respondent: K G Gopalakrishnan
