TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (9) TMI 667
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....n terms of Section 142(3) of the Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 (for short, "the GST Act") read with Rule 15(7) of the Gujarat Value Added Tax Rules, 2003 (for short, "the VAT Rules") with statutory interest on such refund. However, it is prayed to direct the respondents - authorities to rectify or modify the assessment order passed under the VAT Act for converting carry forward Input Tax Credit into cash refund along with interest. [2] The brief facts of the case are as under: [2.1] The petitioner, a partnership firm, by filing the Form GST TRAN 1 under Section 140 of the GST Act, carried forward the excess Input Tax Credit balance of Rs.2,42,15,906/- as per the return for the last period under the VAT Act from 1st April 2017 to 30th J....
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....ter, the Hon'ble Supreme Court extended the time limit for opening the portal for a further period of four weeks from the date of the order passed on 2nd September 2022. Pursuant to the order passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the Central Board of Indirect Tax and Customs (CBIC) issued circular dated 9th September 2022 prescribing the guidelines for the purpose of filing / revising the GST TRAN 1 and TRAN 2. [2.5] It appears that the petitioner, taking benefit of the aforesaid order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court and consequent opening of the GST portal by the respondents, filed revised Form GST TRAN 1 and carried forward the Input Tax Credit of VAT into GST regime was changed to 'Nil'. [2.6] It is the case of the petitioner that revisi....
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....the respondent No.2 refused to grant refund only because of the Input Tax Credit was carried forward in Form GST TRAN 1 filed under Section 140 of the GST Act, more particularly, when the petitioner has already rectified and refused Form GST TRAN 1 while showing the Input Tax Credit as 'Nil', which is accepted by the GST authorities. [4] It was submitted that as per the provisions of Section 142(3) of the GST Act, the amount of Input Tax Credit was paid to be refundable in cash and in accordance with the provisions of the VAT Act. However, as per sub-section (3) of Section 142 of the Act, grant of refund, in case of balance of Input Tax Credit was carried forward under the GST Act, was prohibited. [5] It was submitted that once the petiti....
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....f the Form DRC-03. The same is allowed to be carried out forthwith. It was submitted that the petitioner bona fidely filed GST TRAN 1 for the unutilized Input Tax Credit under the VAT Act. It was, later on, rectified and therefore, refund is required to be granted to the petitioner along with interest as per Section 38 of the VAT Act from the date of eligibility till the date of payment of refund amount and not upto the date of the reversal of the Input Tax Credit in the Electronic Credit Ledger. [9] On the other hand, learned A.G.P. Ms. Shrunjal Shah for the respondents Nos.1 and 2 submitted that the respondents Nos.1 and 2 cannot issue the refund without there being any proceedings pending under the VAT Act and only because the petitione....
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..... [13] This Court, in the case of R. N. Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. (supra), in similar facts, wherein the Commissioner of VAT has granted the refund of unutilized Input Tax Credit under the VAT Act which was carried forward to the GST in the Electronic Credit Ledger and later on reversed, directed the respondents - authorities to give refund along with interest from the date of eligibility from 1st April 2017 to the date of payment relying upon the provisions of Section 38 of the VAT Act by observing as under: "20. Merely because the petitioner has transferred the amount to the electronic credit ledger coupled with the fact that such amount remained unutilized till it was reversed by the petitioner by filling Form DRC-03, the transfer of amo....