M/S.Anbu Motors vs. The Principal Chief

Held

The Court held that the petitioners had made genuine attempts to file their GST TRAN-1, as evidenced by the supporting documents. This satisfied the conditions outlined in Circular No. 39/13/2018-GST. The Court found that the decision relied upon by the petitioners in W.P.(MD)No.18532 of 2018 (Tara Exports) was squarely applicable to the present cases. The Court reasoned that GST is a new levy with the ideal of seamless tax credits, and transitional credits are legitimately accrued. Denying these on procedural grounds due to technical issues in a new IT platform would not be justifiable. The Court directed the respondents to open the portal to enable the petitioners to file their TRAN-1 electronically for claiming transitional credit and to allow the input credits after processing, provided they are otherwise eligible in law. The Court explicitly stated that this order shall not be a precedent.

Facts

The petitioners, M/s. Anbu Motors and M/s. Anbu Automobile, are dealers registered under the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017. They sought to file GST TRAN-1 electronically to claim transitional credit upon the implementation of GST. However, they contend that due to technical glitches in the GSTN portal, they were unable to complete the filing process before the statutory due date of December 27, 2017. Despite attempts to resolve the issue through the Help Desk, Grievance Redressal Portal, and jurisdictional officers, their efforts were unsuccessful. Consequently, they filed writ petitions seeking a Mandamus directing the respondents to re-open and reinstate the facility for online submission of TRAN-1.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioners are entitled to a direction to re-open the GST TRAN-1 filing facility due to alleged technical glitches preventing timely submission, and if so, under which provision of law? Petitioner's arguments: The petitioners argued that they made genuine attempts to file their GST TRAN-1 within the statutory period but were prevented by technical glitches in the GSTN portal. They relied on Circular No. 39/13/2018-GST, which acknowledges technical issues and provides a mechanism for filing, and a previous High Court decision in W.P.(MD)No.18532 of 2018 (Tara Exports) which granted similar relief. They contended that the due date for claiming transitional credit is procedural, and substantive input credits should not be denied on procedural grounds, especially given the new GST regime and IT platform. Revenue's arguments: The respondents, through their learned counsel, did not refute the petitioners' grievance that no Nodal Officer had been appointed as contemplated by Circular No. 39/13/2018-GST. No specific arguments were recorded against the petitioners' plea for re-opening the portal.