Court Orders Reopening of GST Portal for Credit Availment; Nodal Officer to Facilitate Transitional Relief Under CGST Act.

The HC disposed of the writ petition, granting relief to the petitioner by ordering the reopening of the GST Common Portal for credit availment. The court directed the Nodal Officer to facilitate the filing or revision of necessary forms, either electronically or manually, to claim transition relief under the CGST Act. Compliance was mandated within eight weeks, with respondents permitted to verify the genuineness of the petitioner's claims.

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Issues: Challenge to GST portal closure for credit availment, rejection of representation, direction for filing TRAN-2

1. Challenge to GST Portal Closure for Credit Availment:
The petitioner, engaged in the business of agricultural pesticides and fertilizers, challenged the closure of the GST Common Portal preventing them from availing eligible credit in their electronic credit ledger. The petitioner sought permission to fill required forms to claim transition relief under the CGST Act. The court noted that the petitioner had uploaded GST TRAN-1 Form but failed to fill certain columns, resulting in the inability to upload TRAN-2. The main grievance was the inability to upload TRAN-2 due to defects in the TRAN-1 form, specifically Part-7B of Table 7(a) being left blank.

2. Rejection of Representation:
The petitioner's representation dated 22.03.2019 to rectify the issue was rejected by the authorities, leading to subsequent challenges before different respondents. Despite multiple attempts to address the matter through representations and appeals, the petitioner faced rejection and was directed to approach the CGST Authority. This chain of rejections led to the filing of the writ petition before the High Court.

3. Direction for Filing TRAN-2:
The High Court, referring to previous judgments, directed the petitioner to approach the Nodal Officer to rectify the defects in the GST forms. The court set aside the order preventing credit availment and instructed the Nodal Officer to consider the petitioner's case in line with previous directions. The Nodal Officer was mandated to allow the petitioner to file or revise the required forms electronically or manually. The court emphasized expeditious compliance within eight weeks and granted liberty to the respondents to verify the genuineness of the claims made by the petitioner in accordance with the law.

In conclusion, the High Court disposed of the writ petition, providing relief to the petitioner by ordering the reopening of the GST Common Portal for credit availment and directing the Nodal Officer to facilitate the filing of necessary forms to claim transition relief under the CGST Act.

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