SHREE MOTORS Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These writ petitions have been filed by the petitioners aggrieved by non filing of Form GST Tran-1 at common portal allegedly because of various system error/technical glitches at the portal throughout the period during which the Form was available, which resulted in denial of transactional credit of central excise paid on goods amounting to Rs. 23,27,063/- in S.B.C.W.P. No. 440/2020 and Rs. 85,41,755/- in S.B.C.W.P. No. 266/2020 as on the appointed date i.e. 01.07.2017 in terms of Section 140 of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 ('CGST Act').

(2.) It is, inter alia, indicated in the writ petitions that petitioners had purchased goods prior to the appointed date i.e. 01.07.2017, which were held in stock on the appointed date. The provisions of Chapter-XX of the CGST Act provided for transitional provisions for transition of credit from erstwhile indirect tax regime to GST regime, which inter alia provided that a registered person who was not liable to be registered under the provisions of the Central Excise Act, 1944 ('the Act of 1944') is entitled to take credit of eligible duties in respect of input held in stock on the appointed day subject to fulfillment of the conditions set out therein. It is submitted that the provision of Section 140 of the CGST Act is a complete Code in itself and the same does not provide for eligibility subject to any further conditions.

(3.) Rule 117 of the Central Goods and Service Tax Rules, 2017 ('CGST Rules') was framed for allowing carry forward of the eligible duties available with the assessee on the day immediately preceding 01.07.2017, which inter alia, imposed time limit of 90 days (further extended by 90 days) for taking credit of eligible duties in electronic credit ledger.