Anil Kumar Singh Vs Union of India and 5 others (Allahabad High Court)
Summary: In Anil Kumar Singh v. Union of India [Writ Tax No. 1901 of 2024], the Allahabad High Court addressed a procedural gap in the GST system, issuing a notice to the Revenue Department. The petitioner’s Form GST TRAN-1, claiming transitional credit of INR 30,20,268.52, was rejected due to a clerical error in filing the credit under the wrong column. Following the rejection, the petitioner attempted to appeal but faced a hurdle as the GST portal lacked an option for filing appeals related to Form TRAN-1. Manual appeals were also not entertained, leaving the petitioner with no viable remedy. Despite the authority noting the petitioner could request the Commissioner to allow a revision of Form TRAN-1, this request to reopen the portal was not acted upon. Aggrieved, the petitioner sought redressal through a writ petition. The High Court, while relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Union of India v. Bharti Airtel Ltd., recognized the lack of procedural options as a critical concern and issued a notice to the Revenue Department for their response. The case underscores systemic inadequacies in the GST framework, particularly the portal’s inability to address clerical errors effectively, highlighting the need for more inclusive digital solutions to ensure fairness in GST compliance.
