Ms Ambassador Vincom PVT LTD Through Its Authorized Signatory Shri Santosh Kumar Lal vs. The Goods And Services Tax Network Through Its Chairman

Held

The Court held that the issue concerning the non-filing of Form GST-TRAN-1 within the stipulated time is now settled by the judgment of the Apex Court in Union of India and another versus Filco Trade Centre Pvt. Ltd. and another, dated 22.07.2022. The Apex Court directed that any aggrieved registered assessee can file the relevant form (TRAN-1 and TRAN-2) or revise an already filed form within a window period from 01.09.2022 to 31.10.2022, irrespective of whether they had filed a writ petition before the High Court or whether their case was decided by the Information Technology Grievance Redressal Committee (ITGRC). The Court noted that the learned counsel for the respondents admitted that the Apex Court's direction governs the cases of the individual petitioners. Consequently, the writ petitions were disposed of with a direction for the petitioners to avail the benefit of the window period as per the Apex Court's order. The GSTN was directed to open the common portal for filing and revising forms, and concerned officers were given 90 days thereafter to verify claims and pass orders.

Facts

Multiple petitioners, including M/s Jagdamba Traders, M/s K.P. Automobiles Private Limited, Krishna Automobiles, M/s Neptune Traders Private Limited, M/s Ambassador Vincom Private Limited, M/s Durgapur Ceramics and Alloys Pvt. Ltd., M/s Nischay Impex Private Limited, M/s Topsel Marketing Private Limited, and M/s Poorva Motors Pvt. Ltd., filed writ petitions before the Jharkhand High Court. The common grievance was their inability to file Form GST-TRAN-1 within the stipulated time to avail transitional credit under Section 140 of the CGST and JGST Act, 2017. Reasons cited included technical glitches on the GSTN portal, non-acceptance of manual filings, and errors in previously filed forms. The petitioners sought directions to enable them to file or revise their TRAN-1 forms.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioners, who could not file Form GST-TRAN-1 within the stipulated time due to technical issues or other reasons, are entitled to an opportunity to file or revise the said form to claim transitional credit under Section 140 of the CGST and JGST Act, 2017? Petitioner's Contention: The petitioners argued that they were prevented from filing Form GST-TRAN-1 within the prescribed period due to technical glitches on the GSTN portal, non-acceptance of manual filings, or errors in their initial submissions. They relied on the principle that genuine taxpayers should not be deprived of their legitimate credit due to system failures. They also referred to a similar writ petition (W.P (T) No. 2524/2020) disposed of by the High Court based on an Apex Court judgment. Revenue's Contention: The respondents, including the Union of India and the State of Jharkhand, did not dispute the petitioners' claims on merits. They conceded that the directions issued by the Apex Court in the case of Union of India and another versus Filco Trade Centre Pvt. Ltd. and another would govern the present cases. They acknowledged that the issue was settled by the Apex Court's order.