Time for cashback: HC orders 16-cr tax refund to Flipkart

Bengaluru: The Karnataka high court has ordered the commercial taxes department to refund Rs 16.1 crore to Flipkart India. This amount represents 70% of a pre-deposit made using input tax credit (ITC) from its electronic credit ledger (ECL).

The court stated in a recent order that the refund is to be paid in cash. Justice S R Krishna Kumar also directed that applicable interest on the total pre-deposit of Rs 23 crore be paid in cash as per law. The case dates back to reassessment orders issued for the tax period 2011-12 to 2014-15 under the Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003 (KVAT Act). These orders classified mobile phone chargers as unscheduled commodities and imposed a higher tax rate, resulting in a demand of Rs 23 crore.