M/S. Leena Traders vs. The Union Of INDIA

Held

The Court dismissed the writ petition, finding no merit in it. The Court acknowledged the respondents' submission regarding the Supreme Court's order in Union of India and Others Vs. FILCO Trade Centre Pvt. Ltd. and Another, which provided a window for assessees to revise their GST Forms between September 1, 2022, and November 30, 2022. The Court noted that the petitioner had failed to approach the respondent-authorities for revision within this stipulated period. Therefore, the Court held that the petitioner could not seek relief through the writ petition. However, the Court granted the petitioner liberty to file a revised GST Form in the event the window for submitting revised returns is further extended by the respondents. The ratio decidendi is that a party seeking relief must avail of the remedies and opportunities provided by the authorities or courts, and if such opportunities are missed, a writ petition may not be maintainable. The operative direction was to dismiss the petition with liberty to file a revised form if the window is extended.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s. Leena Traders, filed a writ petition before the Rajasthan High Court at Jodhpur, aggrieved by the respondents' failure to address its request to revise its GSTR-3B Form. The petitioner had inadvertently reported input tax credit (ITC) in the wrong columns (Central GST and State GST credit). The petitioner claimed that no procedure was available on the GST Portal for revising filed returns and that its requests to the respondent-authorities for a proper arrangement to file a revised return were ignored. The respondents, represented by learned counsel, submitted that the Supreme Court, in the case of Union of India and Others Vs. FILCO Trade Centre Pvt. Ltd. and Another, had provided a window for registered assessees to revise their GST Forms from September 1, 2022, to October 31, 2022, which was later extended to November 30, 2022. The respondents contended that the petitioner failed to avail this opportunity.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to revise its GSTR-3B Form to correct the inadvertent misreporting of input tax credit, given the absence of a specific procedure on the GST Portal for such revisions at the time of filing the petition? Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner argued that it had inadvertently reported input tax credit in the wrong columns of its GSTR-3B Form and that there was no mechanism available on the GST Portal to rectify this error. It further contended that its requests to the respondent-authorities to facilitate a revised filing were not heeded. Respondents' Contention: The respondents submitted that the Supreme Court had provided a specific window for revising GST Forms from September 1, 2022, to November 30, 2022. They argued that the petitioner failed to utilize this opportunity to revise its return.