M. P. Rappai And Sons Vs Union of India (Kerala High Court)
The petitioner, a registered dealer under the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, had migrated to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime upon its introduction on 1 July 2017. The dispute arose regarding the denial of transitional Input Tax Credit (ITC) relating to the pre-GST period of April to June 2017. Under Section 140(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, a registered person, other than one opting for composition scheme, is entitled to carry forward the eligible CENVAT credit to the electronic credit ledger. Initially, the deadline for claiming such transitional credit was 27 December 2017, but following directions from the Supreme Court in Union of India v. Filco Trade Centre Pvt. Ltd., the time was extended up to 30 November 2022.
The petitioner attempted to submit Form GST TRAN-1 on 30 November 2022, the last date for filing. However, during submission, an error appeared in Table 7(b) concerning the “date of booking invoices.” The petitioner stated that all invoices were booked before 1 July 2017, but the portal did not accept such dates. A grievance was raised the next day, on 1 December 2022, and the issue was reported to the authorities through formal communication. The helpdesk acknowledged the error, confirming that the petitioner had encountered a validation issue related to the date field. Since the issue was not resolved, the petitioner approached the High Court seeking directions to resolve the technical glitch, allow uploading of the TRAN-1 form, and grant transitional ITC on opening stock as on 30 June 2017. Alternatively, the petitioner sought permission for manual filing of TRAN-1 and supporting documents.
