Taxpayer paid Rs 1.24 lakh twice in 2022. Patna High Court now comes to his rescue

In 2022, Patna resident Shashi Kant Singh faced a bizarre predicament where he was compelled to pay the same amount twice to the Central GST and Customs authorities. The court has now stepped in to rectify the situation, ordering a refund of Rs 1.24 lakh along with 12% annual interest and Rs 25,000 in litigation costs. The Patna High Court's division bench, led by Justices Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Sunil Dutta Mishra, expressed their frustration with the department's handling of Singh's case.

The court ruled that the authorities had "unnecessarily" forced the taxpayer to escalate his concerns to the court, stating that the matter was "very simple" and should have been resolved earlier. The case originated from a service tax demand of Rs 16.56 lakh, which Singh contested before the Commissioner (Appeals) in November 2022.

Singh was required to make a pre-deposit to proceed with the appeal, which he did through the ICEGATE portal on June 16, 2023. However, due to an error on the portal, Singh's payment was not acknowledged. Frustrated by the lack of response, he made a second payment via RTGS on the same day, only to receive no confirmation of receipt or any subsequent refund.