Case Details: State of Jharkhand vs. BLA Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. (2026) 38 Centax 186 (S.C.)
Judiciary and Counsel Details
- Sanjay Kumar & K. Vinod Chandran, JJ.
- S/Shri Arunabh Choudhary, Sr. Adv., Ms. Pallavi Langar, AOR, Ms. Pragya Baghel & Sujeet Kumar Chaubey, Advs., for the Petitioner.
Facts of the Case
The applicant had filed an appeal against an order issued under Section 74 of the Jharkhand GST Act and made a statutory pre-deposit for the same. The application for refund of the statutory pre-deposit under Section 54(1) of the Jharkhand GST Act was rejected by way of a deficiency memo. It was submitted that once the appeal was allowed in the applicant’s favour, the refund of the statutory pre-deposit became a vested right. The High Court had held that the refund of statutory pre-deposit is a right vested in the applicant after the appeal is allowed, and that reliance on Section 54, which is directory in nature, was unnecessary. The matter was accordingly placed before the Supreme Court.
High Court Held
The Hon’ble Supreme Court held that the refund of statutory pre-deposit made for filing an appeal is governed by Section 107(6) read with Section 115 of the Jharkhand GST Act and not under Section 54. It was observed that once the appeal is allowed, the right to refund is vested in the applicant and cannot be retained by either the State or the Centre. The Court noted that the exercise undertaken by the High Court with respect to Section 54 was unnecessary. Consequently, the appeal was disposed of with a direction that the amount of statutory pre-deposit be refunded with interest in accordance with law.
List of Cases Reviewed
- BLA Infrastructure (P.) Ltd. v. State of Jharkhand — (2025) 27 Centax 81 (Jhar.) = 2025 (96) G.S.T.L. 23 (Jhar.) — Affirmed [Para 7]
