M/S Jagdalpur Motors vs. Union Of INDIA

Held

The Court held that the petitioner was entitled to revise their Form GST TRAN-1. The Court found that the Supreme Court's order in Union of India Vs. Filco Trade Centre Pvt. Ltd. allowed for the submission of TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 forms, and the portal remained open until November 30, 2022. The Court reasoned that the petitioner's attempt to submit the form, which was inadvertently frozen due to an error, meant that the provisions of Rule 120A of the CGST Rules, 2017, which permit revision of the declaration once, should be applicable. The Court stated that the circular dated September 9, 2022, particularly clause 4.6.2, could not override the statutory provision of Rule 120A. Circulars and instructions are meant to be clarificatory and cannot dilute or make statutory provisions redundant. The Court emphasized that the Supreme Court's order did not preclude the applicability of Rule 120A. Therefore, the Court directed respondents No. 1 & 2 to instruct respondent No. 5 (GSTN) to open the portal for the petitioner to revise their declaration once, as per Rule 120A, and then submit the completed form before the Supreme Court's deadline of November 30, 2022. No further revision would be permitted.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Jagdalpur Motors, filed a writ petition seeking to reopen the GST portal for filing Form GST TRAN-1 due to an inadvertent mistake made by their consultant. The petitioner's consultant mistakenly entered 'NIL' in the column for total outstanding credit inputs while attempting to submit the form, causing it to freeze. Despite attempts to reset or revise the form, the system did not permit it. The petitioner had applied for permission to revise the form on October 27, 2022, which remained unconsidered, leading to the present petition. The respondents argued that the Supreme Court's order allowing portal reopening was a one-time measure and that Circular No. 180/12/2022-GST dated September 9, 2022, specifically clause 4.6.2, prohibited further revision of TRAN-1/TRAN-2 forms.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to revise their Form GST TRAN-1, considering the inadvertent error made during submission, despite the respondents' reliance on Circular No. 180/12/2022-GST, clause 4.6.2, which prohibits revision of TRAN-1/TRAN-2 forms? (Question of law and mixed fact and law, turning on Rule 120A of the CGST Rules, 2017 and Circular No. 180/12/2022-GST). Petitioner's Arguments: - The petitioner contended that clause 4.6.2 of the circular is not applicable as the form submission was not completed and was frozen at the stage of input. They argued that the Supreme Court's order extending the portal opening time did not negate the applicability of Rule 120A. - They further argued that a statutory provision like Rule 120A cannot be overridden by a circular, and that allowing revision would not prejudice the department as the portal remains open until November 30, 2022. Respondents' Arguments: - The Union of India argued that the Supreme Court's order was a one-time exceptional measure and that Circular No. 180/12/2022-GST, clause 4.6.2, explicitly prohibits any further opportunity to file or revise TRAN-1/TRAN-2 forms after the initial submission or receipt of filed forms. - They maintained that the circular, being in light of the Supreme Court's judgment, was applicable and justified their refusal to permit revision.