Officer Accused of Misleading Court in Rejected Refund Case; Matter to be Heard on January 20, 2026
In a significant development, the Allahabad High Court has referred the case of a GST officer to the appropriate bench for criminal contempt proceedings after the officer allegedly attempted to mislead the court. The officer, identified as the Additional Commissioner, Grade-2(Appeal) First, State Tax, Meerut, is accused of filing a misleading affidavit regarding the rejection of a refund application under Section 54 of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, 2017.
The case involves Adboulevard Media Private Limited, which had its refund application rejected by the GST authorities. The company subsequently appealed the decision, but the appeal was dismissed by the appellate authority. The petitioner argued that the appellate authority failed to adequately consider mandatory Circular No. 230/24/2024-GST and relevant documents before dismissing the appeal.
Justice Piyush Agrawal, presiding over the case, noted that despite being granted time on two occasions to file a better affidavit, the respondent officer filed personal affidavits that attempted to mislead the court. The affidavits claimed that the impugned order was passed after due consideration of the circular dated September 10, 2024, and other relevant documents, which the court found to be false.
The judgment highlighted deficiencies in the functioning of the GST Department, noting that the officer not only passed a perverse order but also filed affidavits trying to mislead the court. The court has directed that the matter be placed before the appropriate bench dealing with criminal contempt on January 20, 2026, for issuing notice to the respondent officer.
The petitioner was represented by counsels Raj Kumar Singh and Rajat Aren, while the respondents were represented by the learned Additional Advocate General, Sri Anoop Trivedi, assisted by Sri Ravi Shankar Pandey.
The court has provided the respondent officer an additional two weeks to file better affidavits, with further hearings scheduled for January 6, 2026.
Bottom Line:
Refund application under Section 54 of GST Act was rejected. The appellate authority dismissed the appeal without due consideration of the mandatory circular and relevant facts, thereby misleading the court. Matter referred to appropriate Bench for criminal contempt proceedings.
Statutory provision(s): Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 Section 54, Circular No. 230/24/2024-GST
