M/S Asia Pacific Distributors vs. Union Of INDIA And 4 Ors
Facts
The petitioner, M/s Asia Pacific Distributors, filed a writ petition seeking a mandamus directing the GST Council (respondent no. 2) to recommend an extension of the time period for filing GST Tran-1. The petitioner claimed that their application for transactional credit was not entertained on the last date, December 27, 2017, due to the electronic system of the respondent not responding despite their efforts. This failure to file on time risked the petitioner losing entitled credit. The petition was filed before the High Court on March 13, 2018.
Held
The Court held that the respondents (GST Council and related authorities) should reopen the portal for the petitioner to file their GST Tran-1 application within two weeks from the date of the order. If the portal is not reopened, the respondents are directed to entertain the petitioner's application manually after due verification of the claimed credits. Furthermore, the Court directed that the petitioner should be allowed to pay their taxes through the regular electronic system, considering the credit that is likely to be allowed. The writ petition was disposed of with these directions.
Key Issues
1. Whether the Court can direct the GST Council to make recommendations to the State Government for extending the time period for filing GST Tran-1, considering the petitioner's inability to file due to technical glitches? The petitioner argued that the electronic system failed on the last date of filing, preventing them from submitting their complete application for transactional credit. They contended that this failure was beyond their control and that they should not suffer a loss of credit due to such technical issues. The respondents' arguments are not recorded in the judgment.
Sections Cited
GST Tran-1
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Court No. - 35 Case :- WRIT TAX No. - 367 of 2018 Petitioner :- M/S Asia Pacific Distributors Respondent :- Union Of India And 4 Ors Counsel for Petitioner :- Rishi Raj Kapoor Counsel for Respondent :- A.S.G.I.,Ashok Singh,C.S.C. Hon'ble Bharati Sapru,J. Hon'ble Neeraj Tiwari,J. Heard Sri Rishi Raj Kapoor, learned counsel for the petitioner, Shri Siddharth Singhal, learned counsel for the respondent nos.3 and 4. The petitioner seeks a writ of mandamus directing the GST council respondent no.2 to make recommendations to the State Government to extend the time period for filing of GST Tran- 1 in the case of the petitioner because his application was not entertained on the last date i.e. 27.12.2017 and he has filed his complete application for the necessary transactional credit. The petitioner has alleged in the petition that despite making several efforts on the last date for filing of the application, the electronic system of the respondent no.2 did not respond, as a result of which the petitioner is likely to suffer loss of the credit that it is entitled to by passage of time. In view of the above, the respondents are directed to reopen the portal within two weeks from today. In
The judgment continues below.
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