M/S Venkateswara Wires PVT. LTD. vs. Union Of INDIA Through Secretary

Held

The Court held that the challenge to the constitutional validity of Rule 117 of the CGST Rules was no longer res integra, referencing prior judgments of the same High Court and the Gujarat High Court in Willowood Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Union of India. Therefore, the prayer to declare Rule 117 unconstitutional was rejected. However, considering that the Union of India had extended the period for submitting Form TRAN-1 up to December 31, 2019, the Court granted liberty to the petitioners. They were directed to make an application before the GST Council through the Standing Counsel, who would forward it to the jurisdictional officer. The GST Council was then to issue a requisite certificate of recommendation to the Commissioner, enabling the petitioners to avail CENVAT credit within the stipulated time if their assertions were found correct. The writ petitions were disposed of in terms of these directions.

Facts

Two writ petitions were filed by M/s Venkateswara Wires Pvt. Ltd. and M/s Sarvodaya Fertilizers And Chemicals. The petitioners sought permission to file Form TRAN-1 under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and Rules, 2017, to avail transitional credit. They also prayed for the respondents to give effect to manually submitted Form GST Tran-1 to avail input tax credit. The validity of Rule 117 of the CGST Rules was also challenged. The High Court noted that a similar writ petition, Obelisk Composite Technology LLP Vs. Union of India & Others, had been disposed of by a co-ordinate bench.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioners should be permitted to file Form TRAN-1 to avail transitional credit under Section 140 of the CGST Act, 2017, and Rule 117 of the CGST Rules, 2017? The petitioners argued that they should be allowed to file Form TRAN-1, either by reviving the facility on the common portal or by accepting manually submitted forms, to claim eligible transitional credit. They also sought to declare Rule 117 unconstitutional or to read it down to remove the last date for filing TRAN-1. The Revenue contended that the challenge to Rule 117 was no longer res integra, citing previous judgments, and that the Union of India had extended the last date for submission up to December 31, 2019, with specific procedural requirements.