Refunds Rulebook and Rights Restored

In a path breaking judgement that reiterates and reinforces the right of a refund, the Hon’ble Karnataka High Court has delivered an important GST ruling in Gunnam Infra Projects Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India, reaffirming that tax authorities cannot use RFD-03 deficiency memos as a tool to stall or derail legitimate refund claims. The Court held that once a refund application is complete under Rule 89(2), officers have no jurisdiction to reject it mechanically or question merits at the acknowledgment stage. By quashing repeated deficiency memos and directing processing of the refund, the judgment marks a strong pushback against coercive recoveries and reinforces the principle that GST refunds must follow law—not administrative convenience. J the App by JustIDT takes a look.