Trivedi And Sons PVT. Limited vs. Union Of INDIA & Ors.
Held
The Court allowed the writ petition, following the precedent set in 'Super India Paper Products Vs. Union of India' and 'SRC Aviation (P) Ltd. v. Union of India'. The Court held that taxpayers who genuinely attempted to file TRAN-1 within the deadline but were prevented by technical glitches should be granted relief. The Court reasoned that the credit standing in favour of an assessee is a property and cannot be deprived except by authority of law. The judgment acknowledged that the respondents recognize system glitches through extensions like Notification No. 49/2019. The Court directed the respondents to either re-open the online portal for the petitioner to file TRAN-1 electronically or to accept it manually by December 15, 2021. The respondents were further directed to process the petitioner's claim in accordance with law once the TRAN-1 form is filed. The prayers to declare Rules 117 to 120A and Circular No. 39/13/2018-GST as ultra vires were not expressly decided upon but the relief granted effectively bypasses the strict application of these provisions in this instance.
Facts
The petitioner, Trivedi and Sons Pvt. Limited, filed a writ petition seeking directions to open the common GST portal for filing TRAN-1 electronically or to allow manual revision or filing in GSTR-3B to avail transitional credit of Rs. 3,32,657/-. The petitioner claimed to have faced technical glitches preventing the filing of TRAN-1 within the stipulated time. Despite attempts to report grievances and send letters to the respondents regarding these difficulties, the petitioner was unable to file the form. The petitioner provided screenshots as evidence of attempted filing. The respondents contended that the screenshots did not constitute proof of a technical error on the portal.
Key Issues
1. Whether the petitioner, having faced technical glitches in filing Form GST TRAN-1 electronically within the prescribed deadline, should be permitted to file it electronically or manually to avail transitional credit, considering the evidence of attempted filing (screenshots)? Petitioner's Argument: The petitioner argued that technical glitches prevented timely filing of TRAN-1 and that their attempts to file were evidenced by screenshots. They relied on previous High Court judgments, specifically 'Super India Paper Products Vs. Union of India' and 'SRC Aviation (P) Ltd. v. Union of India', which allowed similar relief to taxpayers facing system errors, even those without documentary evidence. They also sought to declare Rules 117 to 120A of the CGST Rules, 2017, and Circular No. 39/13/2018-GST as ultra vires. Respondents' Argument: The respondents contended that the provided screenshots did not establish a technical anomaly on the GST common portal.
Sections Cited
Rule 117, Rule 117(1A), Rules 117 to 120A
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Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances
O R D E R % 29.11.2021 MANMOHAN, J. (Oral)
Present writ petition has been filed with the following prayers: “i. To issue a writ of mandamus or a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction, to direct the Respondents to open the common portal for the Petitioner to be able to file TRAN-1 electronically; or alternatively to allow the Petitioner to avail the said lTC by manually revising TRAN-1 or by furnishing the details in Form GSTR 3B or in any other manner so as to enable the Petitioner to avail the transitional credit of Rs.3,32,657/-, in its electronic credit ledger. ii. To pass an order declaring the impugned Rules 117 to 120A of the CGST Rules, 2017 (An
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