M/S Grasim Industries LTD. vs. Union Of INDIA

Facts

The petitioners, registered under the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003, and Service Tax laws, sought to carry forward eligible CENVAT/Input Tax Credit (ITC) on Service Tax, Central Excise, and Gujarat Value Added Tax to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. They aimed to file Form GST Tran-I to claim this transitional credit. The due date for filing Form GST Tran-I was prescribed under Rule 117 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017. The petitioners contended that this due date was procedural and directory, not mandatory, and sought permission to file the form electronically or manually to claim their eligible credit.

Held

The Court noted that the issue involved in the captioned group of petitions had been definitively answered by the Apex Court in the case of Union of India and anr vs. Filco Trade Centre Pvt. Ltd and anr. The Supreme Court had directed the Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) to open a common portal for filing concerned forms for availing Transitional Credit through TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 for two months, from September 1, 2022, to October 31, 2022. Any aggrieved registered assessee was permitted to file the relevant form or revise an already filed form, irrespective of whether a writ petition was filed or the case was decided by the ITGRC. The Supreme Court further directed GSTN to ensure no technical glitches during this period and gave the concerned officers 90 days thereafter to verify the claims and pass appropriate orders on merits after granting an opportunity to the parties. The allowed transitional credit was to be reflected in the Electronic Credit Ledger. The High Court held that this decision of the Supreme Court shall govern the rights of the parties.

Key Issues

1. Whether the due date prescribed under Rule 117 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, for filing Form GST Tran-I to claim transitional credit is directory or mandatory? 2. Whether the petitioners should be permitted to file Form GST Tran-I, electronically or manually, to claim eligible carried forward duties of CENVAT/Input Tax Credit? The petitioners argued that the due date for filing Form GST Tran-I was procedural and directory, not mandatory, and therefore, they should be allowed to file it. They relied on various High Court judgments that had taken a similar view. The respondents, Union of India and other authorities, did not explicitly record their arguments in the judgment, but the context implies they would have relied on the statutory provisions and rules prescribing the due date.