Silicin Constructions PVT LTD vs. Union Of INDIA & Ors

Held

The Court, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, disposed of the writ petition by directing respondent No. 2 to take a decision on the petitioner's letter dated March 8, 2018 (Annexure P-5). This decision is to be made in accordance with the law, by passing a speaking order, and after affording an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner. The Court mandated that this decision must be taken within a period of one week from the date of receipt of the certified copy of the order. The primary issue of whether the portal should be reopened or the return accepted manually was not decided on its merits but was remitted for a decision by the concerned authority.

Facts

Silicon Constructions Pvt. Ltd. (the petitioner) filed a writ petition seeking a direction to reopen the online portal for filing its Trans-1 return or to manually accept it, to claim Input Tax Credit (ITC). The petitioner had attempted to submit its Trans-1 return on December 23, 2017, but it was processed with an error. After contacting the jurisdictional officer, the petitioner was advised to send an email, which was acknowledged with a request ID, and the issue was stated to be under review. Subsequently, the petitioner was informed via email on January 25, 2018, that the portal was disabled as the last date for filing, December 27, 2017, had passed. The petitioner then sent letters on March 8, 2018, and March 1, 2018, to respondents No. 2 and 3 respectively, requesting manual acceptance of the Trans-1 return and credit of transitional ITC, but received no response. This led to the filing of the present writ petition.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to a direction to reopen the online portal for filing its Trans-1 return and claim transitional Input Tax Credit (ITC) due to technical errors encountered during submission, or alternatively, to have its application for manual acceptance of the Trans-1 return and credit of ITC entertained by the respondents. Contentions of the Petitioner: The petitioner argued that it had attempted to file its Trans-1 return within the stipulated time but could not upload and submit it due to technical errors on the GST portal. It relied on its timely efforts to file and the subsequent communication with the helpdesk. The petitioner further contended that despite sending letters to the relevant authorities (respondents No. 2 and 3) requesting manual acceptance of the return and credit of ITC, no action was taken. Contentions of the Revenue/State: The judgment does not record any specific arguments presented by the respondents (Union of India and others).