M/S Vishal Traders vs. Union Of INDIA And Others

Held

The Court disposed of the writ petition without expressing an opinion on the merits of the case. It granted liberty to the petitioner to file a detailed and comprehensive representation before the Nodal Officer within five days of receiving the order, raising all pleas made in the writ petition. The Court directed that upon receipt of this representation, it, along with any previously filed representation, should be forwarded to the IT Redressal Committee within fifteen days after verification by GSTN. The Committee is then mandated to decide the representation in accordance with clause 5.4 of Circular No.39/13/2018-GST dated 03.04.2018, passing a speaking order and affording the petitioner an opportunity of hearing within four weeks of receiving the representation. The petitioner is permitted to lead evidence to substantiate their claim. The issue of whether the credit should have been reflected or the specific quantum of credit was not decided.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Vishal Traders, registered under the Punjab VAT Act, 2005 and the GST Act, 2017, faced difficulties after migrating to the GST regime. They filed Form GST TRAN-01 on 12.10.2017, and while VAT credit was shown on the GST Portal, it was not reflected in their account. A complaint filed on the GST Portal on 24.05.2018 received acknowledgment but no action was taken. Similar matters were disposed of by the Delhi High Court. The Government issued Circular No.39/13/2018-GST dated 03.04.2018, suggesting approach to the Redressal Committee for issues related to TRAN-01 filing. Some assessees had approached the Nodal Officer or Redressal Committee without adjudication.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to have their GST TRAN-01 credit reflected in their account, given the difficulties faced post-migration to GST? 2. Whether the authorities have failed to adjudicate the petitioner's grievance regarding the non-reflection of VAT credit despite representations and circulars directing such redressal? The petitioner argued that despite migrating to GST and filing the necessary forms, the VAT credit was not being reflected in their account, causing financial hardship. They relied on the fact that they had filed a complaint and that the Delhi High Court had dealt with similar issues. The petitioner also implicitly relied on the Government's own Circular No.39/13/2018-GST, which provided a mechanism for redressal. The respondents (Union of India and others) did not record any specific arguments against the petitioner's claim in the judgment, but the Court's direction implies a procedural path for resolution.