WE HAVE APPLIED FOR REFUND OF EXCESS BALANCE IN E CASH LEDGER, OFFICER HAS REJECTED THE APPLICATION DUE TO NON EXISTENCE OF TAX PAYER IN THE PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS. MY Q IS WHETHER IT IS A VALID GROUND OF REJECTION OF REFUND APPLICATION?

Reply-As per Rule 92(3) of CGST Rules, Where the proper officer is satisfied, for reasons to be recorded in writing, that the whole or any part of the amount claimed as refund is not admissible or is not payable to the applicant, he shall issue a notice in FORM GST RFD-08 to the applicant, requiring him to furnish a reply in FORM GST RFD-09 within a period of fifteen days of the receipt of such notice and after considering the reply, make an order in FORM GST RFD-06 sanctioning the amount of refund in whole or part, or rejecting the said refund claim and the said order shall be made available to the applicant electronically and the provisions of sub-rule (1) shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to the extent refund is allowed:

Provided that no application for refund shall be rejected without giving the applicant an opportunity of being heard.

If the above procedure is not followed properly by department, rejection of refund will be invalid. And as far as the reason for rejection is concerned, non existence of taxpayer at principal place of business is not a valid one.