M/S Knlights Automotives And Plastic Inc Faridabad vs. Union Of INDIA And Ors

Held

The Court allowed the present petition in terms of the judgment passed in CWP No. 30949 of 2018 decided on 04.11.2019. The reasoning was that the respondents' counsel conceded that the issue in the present petition was squarely covered by the aforementioned judgment. The Court granted permission to the petitioner to file the statutory Form TRAN-I by 31.01.2020. Furthermore, it was clarified that if the petitioner was hampered in availing the benefit of the judgment due to the portal not being opened by the respondents, the petitioner would be permitted, as an alternative, to claim the benefit of unutilized credit in their GST-3B Forms for February 2020, either electronically or manually. The ratio decidendi is that where a specific issue has been decided by the High Court in a prior judgment, subsequent petitions raising the same issue, with the concession of the revenue, should be decided in terms of the prior judgment, with appropriate directions for compliance and alternative remedies.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Knlights Automotives and Plastic Inc., a proprietorship concern registered under the GST Act, 2017, and previously under the Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003, Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, and Finance Act, 1994, faced a grievance. The petitioner was unable to upload details of unutilized Input Tax Credit (ITC) from its accounts books to the electronically generated statutory Form TRAN-I. This form was a mandatory requirement under the GST regime to claim benefits of unutilized ITC accrued under previous tax statutes. The petitioner argued that this issue had already been decided in its favor by this Court in a previous judgment.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to relief for being unable to upload unutilized Input Tax Credit details in Form TRAN-I, given the prior judgment of this Court in Adfert Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Versus Union of India and others (CWP 30949 of 2018)? The petitioner contended that the issue raised in the present petition is squarely covered by the judgment dated 04.11.2019, passed in CWP 30949 of 2018, and therefore, the petitioner is entitled to similar relief. The respondents (Union of India and others, and State of Haryana) conceded that the issue raised in the present petition is squarely covered by the aforesaid judgment dated 04.11.2019, passed in Adfert Technologies case, and therefore, the present petition is liable to be disposed of in terms of the said case.