Gujarat GST Rejects Sanofi India's Rs 11.63 Lakh Refund Application

According to the regulatory filing, the refund application pertained to a mandatory pre-deposit of Rs 11,62,853 made by Sanofi India while filing an appeal under the Central Excise Act, 1944 for the assessment period 2014-15 to 2017-18 (till June 2017). The company had made the mandatory pre-deposit by debiting its Electronic Credit Ledger (ECL) and subsequently filed a refund application before the State GST authorities.

The Deputy Commissioner, State GST, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, rejected the refund application on the ground that the claim arose from the debit of the Electronic Credit Ledger towards a mandatory pre-deposit under the Central Excise Act, 1944, and not as "tax" under the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017, making it ineligible for refund under the CGST Act.

The order further stated that matters relating to mandatory pre-deposits made under the Central Excise Act, 1944 fall within the jurisdiction of the Central GST authorities and not the State GST authorities. Consequently, the refund application filed before the State GST authority was held to be not maintainable.

Sanofi India informed the exchanges that it received the order on June 23, 2026. The company also disclosed that it intends to file appeals before the appropriate Appellate Authorities against the order. Sanofi India further clarified that the rejection of the refund application is not expected to have any material impact on the financial, operational or other activities of the company.

According to the regulatory filing submitted by Sanofi India to the BSE and NSE, the refund application was rejected on jurisdictional and legal grounds relating to the nature of the mandatory pre-deposit, while the company has decided to pursue the matter through the appellate mechanism.