M/S Sri Krishna Chemical vs. The Government Of Tamil Nadu

Held

The Court disposed of the writ petition with specific directions. Regarding the first issue, the Court directed the fifth respondent (Assistant Commissioner of GST) to forward the petitioner's representation dated July 30, 2018, to the fourth respondent (Nodal Officer for State GST) within one week of receiving the order. The fourth respondent, in consultation with GSTN, was then directed to consider the petitioner's grievance and forward it to the Grievance Committee within two weeks of receipt. The Grievance Committee was mandated to take an appropriate decision within four weeks of receiving the representation in proper form. The Court did not directly address the second issue of releasing the amount of Rs. 11,65,976/- but rather focused on facilitating the procedural steps for grievance redressal as outlined in the relevant circular.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s. Sri Krishna Chemical Industries, filed a writ petition seeking a Mandamus. Their grievance was the inability to upload Form GST TRAN-1 to claim credit for input tax, service tax, and central excise duty availed at the time of GST migration, due to alleged technical glitches. The petitioner had made a representation dated July 30, 2018, to the fifth respondent, the Assistant Commissioner of GST (CT-3). The petitioner sought a direction for this representation to be forwarded to the Nodal Officer (fourth respondent) and subsequently to the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) (second respondent) for the release of Rs. 11,65,976/-.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to a direction for their representation regarding technical glitches in uploading Form GST TRAN-1 to be forwarded through the prescribed channels for redressal? 2. Whether the Court can direct the release of Rs. 11,65,976/- based on the petitioner's claim of input tax credit, given the procedural stage of the matter? Petitioner's Arguments: The petitioner contended that the Central Board of Indirect Taxes (CBIC) and Customs issued Circular No. 39/13/2018-GST dated April 3, 2018, to address taxpayer grievances arising from technical glitches. This circular led to the constitution of a Grievance Committee and appointment of Nodal Officers. The petitioner argued that their representation, detailing the technical issues preventing Form GST TRAN-1 upload, was submitted to the jurisdictional assessing officer (fifth respondent) and needed to be forwarded to the Nodal Officer (fourth respondent) for action as per the circular. Revenue's Arguments: The judgment records no specific arguments from the respondents.