Krishna Medical Associates vs. Union Of INDIA

Held

The High Court held that the issue raised by the petitioners had already been decided by the Supreme Court in the case of Union of India v. Filco Trade Centre Pvt. Ltd. The Supreme Court had directed the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) to open the common portal for filing concerned forms for availing transitional credit through TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 for two months, from 01.09.2022 to 31.10.2022. Any aggrieved registered assessee was directed to file or revise their forms irrespective of whether they had filed a writ petition or if their case was decided by the IT Grievance Redressal Committee. GSTN was to ensure no technical glitches occurred during this period. Concerned officers were given 90 days thereafter to verify claims and pass orders on merits after granting an opportunity to the parties. Allowed transitional credit was to be reflected in the Electronic Credit Ledger. The High Court found that these directions from the Supreme Court sufficiently covered the interests of the present petitioners, and they had no further grievances. Therefore, the writ petitions were disposed of in light of the Supreme Court's decision.

Facts

The petitioners, M/s. Radical Bio Organics Ltd., Krishna Medical Associates, and HIL Limited, filed these writ petitions before the Telangana High Court. They sought directions to the respondents to grant them further time to file revised or fresh GST TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 forms. The core issue revolved around the inability of the petitioners to file or rectify these forms within the stipulated timelines, leading to the denial of transitional credit. The petitioners argued that technical glitches and procedural issues prevented them from complying with the deadlines. The respondents, including the Assistant Commissioner (Central Taxes), GSTN, and the Union of India, were the authorities against whom these directions were sought. The amounts in dispute were not explicitly stated for all petitioners, but specific amounts were mentioned in the prayer of WP No. 15780 of 2019 for credit to electronic ledgers.

Key Issues

1. Whether Rule 117(1) and its proviso of the CGST Rules, 2017, and Telangana GST Rules, 2017, are illegal and ultra vires Sections 140, 164, and 174(2)(c) of the CGST Act, 2017, and Telangana GST Act, 2017, respectively, by prescribing a ninety-day limit for filing Form GST TRAN-1, and if such a limit is arbitrary, unreasonable, and violative of Articles 14, 19(1)(g), and 265 of the Constitution of India? 2. Whether the orders issued by the Union of India (7th Respondent) and the action of the State of Telangana (6th Respondent) were ultra vires the relevant sections of the GST Acts? 3. Whether the closure of the facility to file Form GST TRAN-1 on the common portal from 28.12.2017 was justified? 4. Whether the respondents should be directed to accept Form GST TRAN-1 manually and credit the claimed transitional credit to the electronic credit ledger of the petitioners? Petitioner's arguments: The petitioners contended that the ninety-day limit for filing Form GST TRAN-1 was arbitrary and unreasonable, violating constitutional provisions. They argued that technical glitches on the GST portal prevented timely filing and rectification. They sought directions for manual acceptance of forms and credit to their ledgers. They also challenged the vires of certain orders and actions by the respondents. Revenue's arguments: The judgment does not explicitly record arguments from the revenue or state respondents. However, the context implies they would have defended the legality of the rules, timelines, and their actions.