Refex Industries Limited v. State of Maharashtra & Others

Background of the Case

In this important GST matter, the petitioner, Refex Industries Limited, approached the Bombay High Court challenging the legality of recovery proceedings initiated by the GST department shortly after an adverse appellate order. The petitioner also questioned the validity of the Notification dated 28.12.2023 issued under Section 168A of the CGST Act, which extended various time limits for passing adjudication orders. According to the petitioner, the notification had been issued without a valid recommendation of the GST Council and was therefore beyond the powers conferred by the statute.

The dispute arose when an appellate order dated 05.02.2026 was passed against the petitioner. Surprisingly, within a short span of about twelve days from the date of the appellate order, the GST authorities initiated recovery proceedings and proceeded to debit approximately ₹1.10 crore from the petitioner’s electronic credit ledger. The petitioner contended that such action was wholly arbitrary because the statutory period available for filing a further appeal had not expired. It was further argued that a notification dated 17.09.2025 had extended the time limit for filing appeals up to 30.06.2026 and therefore the department could not have initiated coercive recovery proceedings before the expiry of such extended period.