Facts of the Case

M/s. Mahavir Auto Diagnostics Private Limited, previously registered under the Andhra Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, migrated to the GST regime with effect from 01.07.2017 and sought to transition the excise duty it had paid on stock held on the appointed date. Under Section 143 (transitory provisions), such transition required filing both Tran-1 and Tran-3 Forms. The petitioner filed Tran-1 but could not upload Tran-3 due to technical glitches, leading the respondent to issue a show cause notice dated 14.01.2020 alleging irregular transitional credit and, eventually, an order dated 10.02.2023 reversing the availed credit. In the interregnum, the Supreme Court in Union of India v. M/s. Filco Trade Centre Pvt. Ltd. directed the GST portal to be reopened from 01.09.2022 to 31.10.2022 (later extended to 30.11.2022) for filing pending Tran-1/Tran-2 forms. The petitioner availed this window and filed the Tran-3 Form on 29.11.2022, but the Superintendent rejected it by a fresh order dated 10.02.2023, relying on CBIC Circular No.180/12/2022-GST, which restricted fresh Tran form filings where the eligibility of the underlying credit was already under adjudication. The petitioner's appeal against this rejection was dismissed on 30.11.2023.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether CBIC Circular No.180/12/2022-GST, Guideline No.4.7, barred the petitioner from filing a fresh Tran-3 Form within the Filco Trade Centre window, on the ground that adjudication regarding transitional credit was already pending.
  2. Whether the petitioner was entitled to transition the excise duty credit, admittedly available to it under the Excise Act, to the GST regime.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioner had validly availed the special window granted by the Supreme Court in Filco Trade Centre to file the Tran-3 Form, curing the earlier technical inability to upload it.
  • Guideline 4.7 of Circular No.180/12/2022-GST was inapplicable since there was no dispute as to the petitioner's entitlement to the underlying excise credit — the only issue in the first round concerned the procedural non-filing of Tran-3, not the eligibility of the credit itself.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The respondents contended that since the petitioner's Tran forms had already been subjected to adjudication which had not concluded by the time the special filing window closed, the petitioner was not entitled to file fresh Tran forms as per Guideline 4.7 of Circular No.180/12/2022-GST.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court held that Guideline 4.7 of the Circular applies only where the eligibility of a person to avail the credit itself is in question — i.e., where there is a genuine dispute as to whether the credit sought to be transitioned was available at all.
  • In the present case, there was no dispute, even according to the impugned orders, that the credit sought to be transitioned was available to the petitioner under the Excise Act; the only issue in the earlier round concerned whether credit could be transitioned without filing Tran-3 — a purely procedural question not covered by Guideline 4.7.
  • The Court held the respondents' contrary view to be incorrect, and accordingly set aside both the Order-in-Original dated 25.09.2023 and the Order-in-Appeal dated 30.11.2023.
  • The respondents were directed to allow the petitioner to avail the credit available under the Excise Act by permitting its transition to the GST regime, and any demands raised on account of rejection of the transitional credit were quashed.

Important Clarification

  • CBIC Circular No.180/12/2022-GST's Guideline 4.7, which bars fresh Tran-1/Tran-2 filings during the Filco Trade Centre special window where adjudication is pending, applies only to cases where the very eligibility/availability of the credit is disputed — it does not extend to cases where the credit's availability is undisputed and the earlier adjudication concerned only a procedural lapse (such as non-filing of Tran-3), in which situation the taxpayer remains entitled to use the special window.

Sections Involved

  • Section 143 of the CGST Act, 2017 (transitory provisions, along with Tran-1/Tran-2/Tran-3 Forms under the CGST Rules) — governs transition of pre-GST credit to the GST regime.
  • CBIC Circular No.180/12/2022-GST — implements the Supreme Court's Filco Trade Centre directions for reopening the Tran-form filing window.

Decision – In Favour of

Assessee. Both impugned orders were set aside and transition of the credit permitted.

Case Details

High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravati; Writ Petition Nos. 14494 and 14496 of 2024; Coram: Justice R. Raghunandan Rao and Justice Sumathi Jagadam; Order dated 23.07.2025.

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