M/S. Sivanssh Infrastructure Development PVT. LTD. vs. Union Of INDIA
Held
The Court held that the petitioner should be granted relief due to the technical difficulties encountered in filing Form TRAN-1 electronically. The Court noted that similar circumstances had led a Division Bench of the same High Court to direct the authorities to accept manual filing or reopen the portal in a prior case (W.P.No.11457 of 2019), which had attained finality. Considering the explanation offered by the petitioner for not uploading the form within the time granted, the Court disposed of the writ petition. The operative direction was to either reopen the portal to enable the petitioner to file Form GST TRAN-1 electronically or, alternatively, to accept the Form GST TRAN-1 presented manually by December 31, 2020. The Court further directed that thereafter, the petitioner's claim would be processed in accordance with law. No order as to costs was made.
Facts
The petitioner, a registered person under GST with GSTIN 37AAFCS2077P1ZQ, is a Works Contractor. As of June 30, 2017, they had closing stock of materials purchased from other states valued at Rs. 1,35,19,001/-, on which Excise Duty of Rs. 13,71,889/- was collected. Under Section 140 of the CGST Act, 2017, read with Rule 117 of the GST Rules, registered persons were entitled to carry forward CENVAT credit by filing Form TRAN-1 electronically by December 27, 2017, with extensions granted. The petitioner claims they could not upload Form TRAN-1 due to technical issues, providing screenshots as evidence, with the last attempt dated December 14, 2019. The petition seeks a direction to reopen the portal for filing TRAN-1 or to accept it manually.
Key Issues
1. Whether the petitioner should be granted an opportunity to file Form TRAN-1 electronically or manually, despite missing the prescribed deadlines, due to alleged technical glitches. This issue turns on the interpretation and application of Section 140 of the CGST Act, 2017, and Rule 117 of the GST Rules, 2017, in light of the petitioner's technical difficulties. Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner argued that they were unable to file Form TRAN-1 electronically within the stipulated time due to technical reasons, supported by evidence of their attempts. They relied on the principle that genuine technical difficulties should not prejudice a taxpayer's right to claim legitimate credit. Revenue's Contention: The judgment does not record any specific arguments or contentions made by the revenue or state respondents. It appears the respondents did not contest the petitioner's claim or present an opposing argument.
Sections Cited
Section 140, Rule 117
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE C.PRAVEEN KUMAR AND THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE D.RAMESH
W.P.No.100 OF 2020
ORDER:- (Per Hon’ble Sri Justice C.Praveen Kumar)
This Writ Petition came to be filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking the following relief:- “……….to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction more particularly, in the nature of Mandamus directing the respondents either to reopen the portal so as to enable the petitioner to file its TRAN-1 form, or in the alternative to accept manual TRAN-1 form from the petitioner and grant ..….”
The averments in the affidavit filed in support of the writ petition show that the petitioner is a Registered Person under the GST Acts with GSTIN 37AAFCS2077P1ZQ. It is stated that he is a Works Contractor and as on 30.06.2017, there was a closing stock of material purchased from other states to a tune of Rs.1,35,19,001/-, on which Excise Duty of Rs.13,71,889/- was collected by the various non-resident registered dealers. It is to be noted here that under Sections 140, 141 and 142 of Chapter XX of the Central Goods and Services Act, 2017 read with Rule 117 of the GST Rules, a Registered
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