Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Greater Rajasthan Electric Trading Co., approached the Rajasthan High Court seeking relief relating to the filing of TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 Forms for claiming transitional input tax credit under the GST regime. During the pendency of the writ petition, the Hon'ble Supreme Court, by its judgment dated 29.08.2022, directed the reopening of the GST common portal to enable all eligible registered taxpayers to file or revise TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 Forms for claiming transitional credit. Since the grievance raised by the petitioner stood addressed by the Supreme Court's directions, the matter came up for disposal before the Rajasthan High Court.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the petitioner should be permitted to file or revise TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 Forms for claiming transitional input tax credit.
  2. Whether the relief sought in the writ petition survived after the Supreme Court directed reopening of the GST portal for filing transitional credit forms.
  3. Whether the writ petition required further adjudication in light of the Supreme Court's binding directions.

Petitioner’s Arguments

  • The petitioner sought an opportunity to claim eligible transitional input tax credit by filing the requisite TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 Forms.
  • It was submitted that the inability to file the prescribed forms had deprived the petitioner of legitimate transitional credit available under the GST law.
  • The petitioner requested appropriate directions enabling filing of the relevant forms in accordance with law.

Respondent’s Arguments

  • The respondents relied upon the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, which had already resolved the issue by directing the reopening of the GST common portal.
  • It was pointed out that the Supreme Court had granted a fresh opportunity to all aggrieved registered taxpayers to file or revise TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 Forms and had also prescribed the procedure for verification of transitional credit claims by the concerned authorities.

Court Order / Findings

The Rajasthan High Court observed that the controversy involved in the present writ petition had already been settled by the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court directing the GST Network (GSTN) to reopen the common portal from 01.09.2022 to 31.10.2022 for filing or revising TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 Forms.

The Supreme Court had further directed that:

  • GSTN should ensure that no technical glitches occur during the reopening period.
  • Eligible registered taxpayers may file or revise the prescribed forms irrespective of whether they had filed writ petitions or approached the IT Grievance Redressal Committee.
  • The concerned officers should verify the transitional credit claims within 90 days after granting reasonable opportunity of hearing.
  • The admissible transitional credit should thereafter be reflected in the Electronic Credit Ledger.

Since the petitioner's grievance stood redressed by these directions, the Rajasthan High Court held that nothing further survived for consideration and accordingly disposed of the writ petition.

Important Clarification

  • The judgment reiterates that disputes relating to filing of TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 Forms stood governed by the directions issued by the Hon'ble Supreme Court.
  • Eligible registered persons were permitted to file or revise transitional credit forms during the reopening period irrespective of earlier litigation or decisions of the IT Grievance Redressal Committee.
  • Verification of transitional credit claims is required to be carried out by the jurisdictional authorities before credit is reflected in the Electronic Credit Ledger.
  • The Rajasthan High Court did not independently examine the merits of the transitional credit claim because the issue had already been resolved by the Supreme Court.

Sections Involved

  • Section 140 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
  • Rule 117 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017
  • Transitional Input Tax Credit Provisions under GST
  • TRAN-1
  • TRAN-2
  • Electronic Credit Ledger
  • GST Transitional Credit Mechanism

Link to Download the Order

https://www.mytaxexpert.co.in/uploads/1785401984_2362compressed.pdf

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