M/S Shri Dayalu Enterprises vs. State Of Rajasthan

Held

The Court held that the concerned respondent authority should immediately allow the petitioner-firm to log in to the GST portal to complete the migration process. This would enable the petitioner to upload their returns and deposit the due tax. The reasoning was based on the facts presented, which indicated that the petitioner faced insurmountable difficulties in completing the migration process despite their efforts, leading to an inability to comply with GST obligations. The Court found the situation analogous to the controversy addressed in the Allahabad High Court's judgment in M/s Metro Institutes of Medical Sciences Pvt. Ltd. Vs. State of U.P. & Ors., which was relied upon by the petitioner. The Court's decision was to grant the necessary access to the petitioner to rectify the situation and fulfill their statutory requirements.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Shri Dayalu Enterprises, a firm engaged in shipping and logistics, was registered under the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act, 2003. Upon introduction of GST on July 1, 2017, the petitioner enrolled on the common portal and received a provisional GST registration number and login credentials on June 28, 2017. Subsequently, an email dated September 30, 2017, from the GSTN indicated a mismatch in the Permanent Account Number (PAN) details with the CBDT database. Despite re-submitting documents, the petitioner was unable to log in to the GST portal as the migration deadline had passed. The petitioner then approached jurisdictional officers and the GSTN helpdesk, which directed them to the Nodal Officer. The petitioner claims to have submitted all required documents for migration, but faced continued login issues, preventing them from filing returns or discharging GST liabilities since July 2017.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner should be allowed to permanently migrate to the GST portal under the same GSTN and activate their login ID with appropriate credentials, considering the difficulties faced in the migration process? (Section 139 of CGST Act/RGST Act and Rule 24 of CGST Rules/RGST Rules, 2017). The petitioner argued that due to the inability to log in and complete migration, they could not file returns or pay taxes from July 2017 onwards, and this was not due to any fault on their part but potentially due to administrative delays. They relied on the Allahabad High Court's decision in M/s Metro Institutes of Medical Sciences Pvt. Ltd. Vs. State of U.P. & Ors. The respondent, while opposing the submissions, could not refute the factual matrix or the applicability of the cited judgment.