M/S Eid Parry (INDIA) Limited vs. The Union Of INDIA

Held

The Court allowed the petition, following the decision in Union of India vs. Asaid Paints Limited and Ors. The Court held that the petitioner should be permitted to file a rectified TRAN-I Form, either electronically or manually, within a period of 30 days from the date of the order. Following the petitioner's filing of the said form, the respondents are directed to consider and pass appropriate orders in accordance with the law. The Court's reasoning was based on the precedent set by the Division Bench of the same High Court, which granted similar relief to assessees seeking to file or revise TRAN-1 forms. The specific amount in dispute (Rs. 4,96,163/-) was noted, and the operative direction was to allow the filing and subsequent consideration by the authorities.

Facts

M/s Eid Parry (India) Limited, the petitioner, filed a writ petition seeking a direction to the Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes and the Assistant Commissioner of Central Tax to either open the online portal for filing a rectified TRAN-I form electronically or permit manual transition of credit amounting to Rs. 4,96,163/- to their Electronic Credit Ledger under the GST regime. The petitioner had originally filed the TRAN-I form physically. The respondents are the Union of India, Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, and Assistant Commissioner of Central Tax.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to an opportunity to file a rectified TRAN-I form electronically or manually, considering the previous filing was physical and the online portal is not accessible for correction. This issue turns on the interpretation and application of Section 164 of the CGST/SGST Act, 2017, read with Rules 17 and 120A of the CGST Rules, 2017, and the Karnataka State GST Rules, 2017. Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that their prayer is covered by the High Court's decision in Union of India vs. Asaid Paints Limited and Ors., and therefore, they should be permitted to file a rectified TRAN-I form electronically or manually. Revenue/State's contention: The learned counsel for the respondents, while not disputing that the issue is covered by the cited decision, submitted that the direction could be for the respondents to permit the petitioner to file the rectified TRAN-I Form electronically or manually within 30 days from the date of the order.