HC Granted Another Opportunity to Assessee to File Form GST ITC-01 Due to Glitches in GST Portal

Case Details: Mariya Agencies v. State Tax Officer - [2024] 169 taxmann.com 522 (Kerala)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• Gopinath P., J.
• Aji V. Dev, Kiran Ramachandran Nair, Alan Priyadarshi Dev & S. Sajeevan, Advs. for the Petitioner.
• P.R. Sreejith, Adv. & Smt. Jasmin M.M., GP for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner, a registered supplier of electrical goods, transitioned from the Composition Scheme to the Regular Scheme under GST in April 2024. To claim ITC on closing stock, as provided under Section 18(1)(c) of the CGST/SGST Acts, the petitioner attempted to upload Form GST ITC-01 on the GST portal. Despite multiple efforts, technical glitches on the portal prevented the successful upload by the deadline of May 8, 2024. A complaint was lodged with the GST Help Desk on the final day, but no resolution was provided.

High Court Held

The High Court noted that evidence confirmed the petitioner had made repeated attempts and filed a timely complaint regarding the portal issues. The Court held that the failure of the Help Desk to address the technical glitches was beyond the petitioner’s control and that denying ITC on this basis was unjust.

Therefore, the Court directed the authorities to enable the GST portal, allowing the petitioner to upload Form GST ITC-01. The petitioner was granted one week from the portal’s reactivation to complete the filing.