Commissioner Of Trade And Taxes vs Femc Pratibha Joint Venture

The Supreme Court upheld the Delhi High Court's judgment quashing the adjustment order under Section 38(3) of the Delhi Value Added Tax Act, 2004, which mandated strict adherence to timelines for processing refunds. The Court ruled that the department cannot retain refund amounts beyond the prescribed time limit and can only adjust refunds against enforceable tax demands. The Court affirmed that the adjustment order was not maintainable as the statutory timeline was not followed, thus directing the refund along with interest as per Section 42.