The Chhattisgarh High Court directed the GST Authority to Re-open the online portal or accept the manual filing of Form TRAN-1.
The petitioner, M/s Nagorao Auto Engineering Works Telghani Naka Raipur aggrieved the inaction on the part of the respondents in permitting the petitioner to submit the TRAN- 1 Form under GST Act claiming for the input tax credit.
The petitioner submitted that the petitioner did make her attempt in ensuring that the TRAN-1 form is uploaded through online mode but because of the inexperience on the part of the legal heirs of the original proprietor as also on the part of the personnel handling the accounting of the petitioner-establishment, the same could not be uploaded because of the technical reasons. That the petitioner never tried to avoid the submission of the said details but was ever willing to do so but for the technical glitches that occurred, the same could not be uploaded. That the reasons for not uploading were beyond the control of the petitioner and the petitioner cannot be attributed for the said lapse and prayed for a chance to upload the same afresh, either by opening of the portal by the respondents or permitting them to submit the same manually.
The respondent, however, submitted that pending the petition before this Court, now that the respondents have passed the order dated 16.08.2021 declining the request of the petitioner. The petitioner would now have to file a fresh writ petition altogether challenging the order dated 16.08.2021 and the present writ petition in its present form would not be sustainable. It was also the contention of counsel for respondents/State that even otherwise the present writ petition at this juncture in its present form would not be sustainable for the reason that the petitioner has not challenged the provision of the GST Act Rule 117 of the GST Rules which prescribes a fix date by which time the TRAN-1 Form has to be submitted. That in the absence of challenge to the Rule, the decision taken by the respondents cannot be found fault with as it would be purely in accordance with law. It was lastly contended by the State counsel that the entire perusal of the pleadings would show that there is no detail available on record to show that the actual dates on which the petitioner made attempt to submit the TRAN-1 Form and there is also no evidence in respect of there being any technical glitch which prevented the petitioner from uploading the TRAN-1 form and in the absence of any such details available, the claim of the petitioner again at this belated stage cannot be entertained.
The Single Bench of Justice P. Sam Koshy directed the respondents to permit the petitioner either submit the TRAN-1 Form online by opening of the portal or permit to submit the TRAN- 1 Form manually and thereafter to process the assessees claim for grant of the input tax credit at the earliest.
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