Court grants relief in GST credit transfer case, allows manual filing, upholds petitioners' rights

The court allowed the writ petitions, quashed the impugned communications, and directed the respondents to facilitate the filing of Form TRAN-1 by 31.12.2019, granting flexibility for manual filing if electronic filing was not feasible. The judgment aimed to uphold the petitioners' rights under the GST Act and ensure a reasonable opportunity for credit transfer despite technical challenges faced during the migration to the GST regime.

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Issues:
Petitioners migrated to GST regime, sought to carry forward VAT credit, faced technical issue in uploading details, denied credit transfer by respondents, impugned communication, relied on press release extending deadline, sought clarification, respondents maintained petitioners did not attempt to log in before deadline, petitioners argued for substantive rights under GST Act, Delhi High Court judgment cited, petitioners sought relief to file Form TRAN-1.

Analysis:
The judgment involved two writ petitions concerning the migration of assesses from the Kerala Value Added Tax Act to the GST regime. The petitioners were entitled to carry forward tax credit from the VAT regime to the GST regime as per transition provisions under the CGST/SGST Act and Rules. The grievance arose when a press release by the GST Council extended the deadline for uploading details for credit migration to 31.12.2017, conflicting with the original deadline of 27.12.2017.

The respondents denied credit transfer to petitioners, citing their failure to log in before the original deadline. The court considered the press release and the subsequent actions of the petitioners, noting that they attempted to seek clarification on the extended deadline. Despite the clarification that the press release was mistaken, the court emphasized that petitioners should not lose substantive benefits under the GST Act due to technical procedures, especially when relying on official communication.

Referring to a Delhi High Court judgment in a similar case, the court allowed the writ petitions, quashed the impugned communications, and directed the respondents to facilitate the filing of Form TRAN-1 either electronically or manually by 31.12.2019. The court granted flexibility for manual filing only if electronic filing was not feasible, emphasizing that the genuineness of claims should be verified without denial solely based on the filing date. The judgment aimed to uphold the petitioners' rights under the GST Act and provide a reasonable opportunity for credit transfer despite the technical issues faced.

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