Bg Financial Services And Another vs. Union Of INDIA And Others

Held

The Court allowed the present petition in terms of the judgment passed in CWP No. 30949 of 2018 decided on 04.11.2019. The petitioner was granted permission to file the statutory Form TRAN-I by 31.12.2019. The Court further clarified that if the petitioners were hampered in availing the benefit of the judgment due to the non-opening of the portal by the respondents, they would be permitted, as an alternative, to claim the benefit of unutilized credit in their GST-3B Forms to be filed for January 2020, either electronically or manually. The reasoning was based on the concession by the Revenue that the present case was squarely covered by the earlier judgment. The ratio decidendi is that where a taxpayer is unable to file a statutory form due to technical issues or portal limitations, and a High Court has already ruled in favor of similar assessees, the benefit of that ruling should extend to the present petitioner, with specific directions for compliance.

Facts

The petitioner, BG Financial Services, a partnership firm registered under the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and engaged in business in Haryana, sought to upload details of unutilized Input Tax Credit (ITC) to the electronically generated statutory Form TRAN-I. This form was required for availing benefits of previous unutilized ITC accrued under prior taxing statutes. The petitioner was unable to upload these details as per their accounts. The petitioner contended that this issue was decided in their favor by this Court in a previous judgment, Adfert Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Versus Union of India and others, dated 04.11.2019. The respondents/Revenue conceded that the present petition was squarely covered by the aforementioned judgment.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to relief in terms of the judgment dated 04.11.2019 passed in CWP 30949 of 2018 titled 'Adfert Technologies Pvt.Ltd. Versus Union of India and others', given that the petitioner was unable to upload details of unutilized Input Tax Credit to Form TRAN-I? (Question of law). Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that the issue had already been decided by this Court in the Adfert Technologies case in favor of assessees, and therefore, the petitioner-company was also entitled to similar relief. Revenue's contention: The respondents/Revenue conceded that the issue raised in the present petition was squarely covered by the aforesaid judgment dated 04.11.2019 passed in Adfert Technologies case, and thus, the present petition was liable to be disposed of in terms of that judgment.