GST transitional credit claims cannot be rejected for prior CENVAT refund refusal, and orders cannot be defended on new grounds later.

A fresh GST transitional credit claim under the special window could not be rejected merely because an earlier CENVAT refund claim had been declined; the circular was read as barring a fresh declaration only where a prior TRAN-1 or TRAN-2 declaration itself had been rejected. The High Court also held that an administrative rejection must stand or fall on the reasons recorded in the order and cannot be justified later on a new ground not stated there. The rejection was therefore set aside, and the matter was remanded to the Deputy Commissioner for fresh consideration after giving the petitioner an opportunity of hearing.

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Issues: Whether the rejection of the petitioner's fresh TRAN-1 request under the special GST transitional window could be sustained where the earlier refusal related to refund claims under the CENVAT regime, and whether the impugned rejection could be justified on grounds not stated in the order.

Analysis: The circular governing the second opportunity for transition of credit was construed as barring a fresh declaration only where a prior TRAN-1/TRAN-2 declaration itself had been rejected. The earlier orders in the present matter were not rejection orders under TRAN-1 or TRAN-2, but orders passed in the CENVAT refund context. The attempt to sustain the rejection by relying on a broader contention that the refund refusal effectively prevented transition was not permitted, because an administrative order must stand or fall on the reasons recorded in it and cannot be defended by introducing a new basis later.

Conclusion: The rejection order could not be sustained and was liable to be set aside.

Final Conclusion: The matter was remanded to the Deputy Commissioner for fresh consideration after granting the petitioner an opportunity of hearing.

Ratio Decidendi: A fresh GST transitional claim cannot be rejected under the special dispensation merely because an earlier CENVAT refund claim was declined, and an impugned order cannot be supported on a ground not contained in the order itself.

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