M/S Sapna Traders Through Its Proprietor Shri Sanjay Turakhai vs. Central Board Of Indirect Taxes And Customs

Held

The Court held that the present writ petition should be disposed of in light of the order passed by the Apex Court. The petitioner was granted liberty to avail the benefit of filing or revising the TRAN-1 form through the common portal opened by GSTN, as directed by the Apex Court, during the period from 01.09.2022 to 31.10.2022. The Court noted the petitioner's submission that they could not avail the benefit earlier due to reasons stated in the petition and that a final order demanding tax and penalty had been passed. The respondents agreed not to insist on recovery for the 90 days granted for adjudication by the authority, provided the petitioner submitted an application within the specified period. It was made clear that if the petitioner failed to avail the benefit, the respondents would be free to take action in accordance with law, and the petitioner would have liberty to appeal thereafter. The Court did not expressly leave any issue undecided, as the matter was resolved based on the Apex Court's directions.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Sapna Traders, filed a writ petition challenging an order dated 25.11.2021 passed by the Assistant Commissioner (Respondent No. 5) under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The petitioner also sought permission to file a revision or rectification of the statutory form TRAN-1, either electronically or manually. The respondents, represented by the CGST counsel, brought to the Court's attention a similar issue addressed by the Apex Court in SLP (C) No. 32709-32710/2018. The Apex Court, by order dated 22.07.2022, directed the Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) to open a common portal for filing TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 forms for availing transitional credit for two months, from 01.09.2022 to 31.10.2022. The petitioner had no objection to this proposition.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to file or revise the TRAN-1 form electronically or manually to claim transitional credit, considering the order passed by the respondent No. 5 under Section 73 of the CGST Act, 2017? 2. Whether the directions issued by the Apex Court in SLP (C) No. 32709-32710/2018, allowing a common portal for filing TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 forms, are applicable to the petitioner's case? Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner sought permission to file or rectify the TRAN-1 form due to reasons stated in the petition, and challenged the order demanding tax and penalty. The petitioner agreed to avail the benefit as per the Apex Court's directions. Revenue's Contention: The revenue submitted that a similar issue was addressed by the Apex Court, which directed GSTN to open a common portal for filing TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 forms for a specific period. They argued that the petition should be disposed of with liberty to the petitioner to avail this benefit. They also stated that if the petitioner avails the benefit, recovery would not be insisted upon for 90 days granted for adjudication.