Source: As summarised in SCC Online's and other GST case-law round-ups of the Supreme Court's decision in Union of India v. Torrent Power Ltd., dated 10 February 2026. This article has been independently researched and written by S&S Co. Advocates & Solicitors for informational purposes; readers should consult the full judgment before relying on this holding.
The Supreme Court, in Union of India v. Torrent Power Ltd., decided on 10 February 2026, is reported to have reaffirmed the established statutory position under Sections 54(5) and 57 of the CGST Act, 2017 on the treatment of refunds where the incidence of tax has already been passed on to an end consumer.
The Court is reported to have held that where a registered person has, as a matter of fact, already passed on the burden of the tax to its own customers, any amount otherwise refundable cannot simply be paid back to that person. Instead, the refund must be credited to the Consumer Welfare Fund, consistent with the Act's underlying policy against unjust enrichment of a claimant who has already recovered the tax from its own customers.