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TMI Blog2022 (2) TMI 846X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he Petitioner's Constituents; (C) Pending hearing and final disposal of the present petition, Your Lordships may be pleased to direct the Respondents to allow the Petitioner to distribute ISD credit of Rs. 20,52,989/- for being utilized in respect of payment of GST liability of the Petitioner; (D) Pending hearing and final disposal of the present petition, Your Lordships may be pleased to direct the Respondents to permit the Petitioner to file all the GSTR - 6 Returns for the previous period without charging and recovering any penalty or late fee; (E) An ex-parte ad-interim relief in terms of para 17(C) above may kindly be granted; (F) Any other further relief that may be deemed fit in the facts and circumstances of the case may also please be granted." 2. It appears from the materials on record that the writ applicant is a public limited company inter alia engaged in the business of manufacture of chemical products like H-Acid, Vinyl Sulphone, Dyes etc. It is not in dispute that the writ applicant was registered as the Input Service Distributor (ISD) under the Cenvat Credit Rules read with the Central Excise Rules. Having regard to the same, the writ applicant was availin ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... period. The ISD itself cannot discharge any tax liability and remit the tax to Government account. 8. A Coordinate Bench of this Court had an occasion to consider an identical matter like the one on hand, in the case of M/s. Vishnu Aroma Pouching Pvt. Ltd. Vs. The Union of India , Special Civil Application No.5629 of 2019, decided on 14.11.2019. We quote the relevant observations: "2.8 Rule 88 (1) of CGST Rules provides for generating a Unique Identification Number at the common portal for each debit or credit to the electronic cash or credit ledger. In the petitioner's case, this Unique Identification Number (UIN) has also been generated for each of the challans. On the challan, the UIN is shown as 'BRN', that is, Bank Reference Number, the numbers being BRN 374991396 and BRN 374995316. All these numbers appear on the challans generated on the common portal (viz. the System), thereby signifying that the petitioner has paid the tax for August, 2017. 2.9 For completing the transaction, a Unique Identification Number relating to discharge of any liability is to be indicated in the corresponding entry in the electronic liability register. This procedural requirement of sub-rule ( ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t inability to correct GSTR-3B return submitted on GSTM portal. The office of the Assistant Commissioner has made an endorsement on this letter advising the petitioner to approach the Help Desk to sort out the issue. 2.14 According to the petitioner, for August, 2017, it has thereafter furnished a return in form GSTR-1 as prescribed under rule 59(1) of the CGST Rules. All required details, including the tax liability and also its payment, are furnished under GSTR-1 by the petitioner. 2.15 The petitioner's representative thereafter visited the Help Desk at GST Bhavan, Ambawadi, and informed the Officers there about the above difficulty in respect of GSTR-3B. The petitioner's representative was, however, informed that any error in GSTR-3B would be taken care of when GSTR-2 and GSTR-3 were filed by the concerned registered person. A copy of Circular No.7/7/2017-GST dated 1st September, 2017 issued by the Government of India was also handed over to the petitioner's representative, wherein correction of erroneous details furnished in Form GSTR-3B was referred to. It is the case of the petitioner that as it has already furnished GSTR-1, it was eagerly waiting for GSTR-2 and GSTR-3 to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... quest letters and representations have been made by the petitioner in writing from 21.9.2017 to 1.3.2019. However, the response received by the petitioner till the first week of March, 2019 was only by way of three letters. A letter dated 21.8.2018 has been received by the petitioner from the Assistant Commissioner (System) advising the petitioner to follow up the matter with the jurisdictional Commissioner who is the Nodal Officer. A letter dated 10.9.2018 has been received by the petitioner from the Joint Commissioner requesting the Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise, Ahmedabad-North for information about action taken on the petitioner's representations; and a letter dated 28.10.2018 (wrongly shown as dated 28.8.2018) from the Deputy Commissioner in charge of the petitioner's factory informing the petitioner that the matter stands referred to the higher formation. 2.18 It is the case of the petitioner that the jurisdictional Deputy Commissioner has, vide the above letter dated 28.10.2018, advised the petitioner to follow the instructions/guidelines mentioned in paragraph 3 of Circular dated 29.12.2017 (Annexure-"F" to the petition). But it is clarified by the Government of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... idered as a defaulter as regards tax liability of August, 2017 exposing the petitioner to several consequences and there is no proper response from the respondents, the petitioner has approached this court seeking the reliefs noted hereinabove. 3. During the pendency of the present petition, the petitioner had filed an application being Civil Application No.1 of 2019 in the captioned writ petition, praying that the petitioner be permitted to file manually GSTR-3B for August, 2017 with the correct and true details and the respondents be directed to accept and acknowledge such GSTR-3B manually filed by the petitioner for August, 2017. The petitioner further sought a direction to the respondents to give effect to the details contained in GSTR-3B for August 2017 filed manually and to indicate discharge of the petitioner's GST liability for August 2017 in the electronic liability register as contemplated under rule 88(2) of the CGST Rules, 2017. 4. Vide order dated 7.5.2019, the application was allowed by permitting the petitioner to file GSTR-3B for August, 2017 manually, with correct and true details and the respondents were directed to accept and acknowledge such GSTR-3B manually ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hat in paragraph 5 thereof, it has been specifically averred by the petitioner that it was never informed in the past for paying tax amount with interest for August, 2017; and that the petitioner might have done that if such advice had been given in the past. Reference was made to the press releases, etc. for the glitches in the network delaying GST filing, to point out that the same also showed that there were reports of returns showing zero figures. It was submitted that despite the aforesaid categorical averments made in the affidavit-in-rejoinder as well as the aforesaid facts being pointed out in the further affidavit filed on behalf of the respondents, there is no denial or dispute in respect of the aforesaid facts. It was submitted that even at the time when the civil application was filed by the petitioners praying to be permitted to file the GSTR manually, which came to be decided on 7.5.2019, no suggestion or submission was made on behalf of the respondents for filing such return with only the principal amount of tax without showing interest for the intervening period for releasing the amount lying in the designated bank. It was pointed out that such suggestion was made b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... register as provided under rule 88(2) of the CGST Rules. The situation therefore, is that though the petitioner had discharged the tax liability aggregating Rs. 128.63 crores (rounded off), such liability was not shown as discharged in the electronic liability register only on account of glitches and crashing of the system on 20th and 21st September, 2017. Consequently, despite the fact that the petitioner had discharged the tax liability in time, it was still treated as a defaulter because all the figures in GSTR- 3B for August 2017 are zeros owing to system failure. 10. As noticed earlier, immediately thereafter, the petitioner had contacted the respondent authorities and had made attempts to do whatever, it was told. However, it was only by the communication dated 7.3.2019, that the petitioner was informed that the Central Board of Excise and Customs had issued Circular No. 26/26/2017-GST dated 29.12.2017 wherein it has been specified that the tax payer may adjust the amount not paid or short paid or excess paid in the GSTR-3B of the previous month in the return of the following tax period. It was further stated that the petitioner was already requested to follow the instruct ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... petitioner are 17092400195007 and 17092400195744. On successful credit of the amount to the concerned Government account maintained in the authorised bank, a Challan Identification Number is generated by the collecting bank, and the same is indicated in the challan as laid down under subrule (6) of rule 87 of the CGST Rules. In the petitioner's case, such CINs have been generated, and such Challan Identification Numbers have been recorded on the challans also, which are HDFC17092400195007 and HDFC17092400195744. These facts have not been disputed by the respondents. Thus, it is evident that the amount in question had actually been deposited by the petitioner on 19.9.2017 for the purpose of payment of tax and was received in the bank designated by the respondents. Moreover, it is an admitted fact that Rs. 114.51 crores (rounded off) paid in the designated bank on 19.9.2017 and also input tax credit of Rs. 14,12,35,762/- debited on 19.9.2017 have been lying to the credit of the GST Department, and the petitioner has not utilised this sum aggregating to Rs. 128.63 crores (rounded off) for discharging any other tax liability. 14. Thus, the petitioner had duly discharged the tax liab ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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