Supreme Court gave the finance ministry further extension of 30 days to Open GST portal for claiming Transitional Credit
The Supreme Court on Friday gave the finance ministry further extension of 30 days for opening of the GST common portal. It also directed the GSTN to open the portal for 60 days from October 1 till November 30 so as to “give full effect” to its July 22 order that had allowed taxpayers to claim accumulated ITC accrued in the pre-GST indirect tax regime in 60 days ending October 31.
A Bench led by Justice SA Nazeer accepted the finance ministry plea that sought extension of time.
Abhishek A Rastogi, Partner at Khaitan & Co, who represents various tax payers told Klickon GST World that In respect of TRAN credit issue, Department had sought an extension of one month to direct GSTN to open the portal for 60 days from 1.10.2022.
Rastogi also told that Department also sought a direction from Supreme Court to respective high courts where cases are pending, to keep open all questions of law decided by respective High Courts concerning section 140 of the CGST Act r/w the corresponding rules, notifications or directions. Both these requests have been allowed by the Supreme Court. Therefore, cases which are pending before respective High Courts, especially where Rules and subsequent amendments for transitional credit are under challenge will have to be argued in its own merits.
Editor’s Comments
The Two month’s window to claim the transitional credit is a major relief to every taxpayer, who were not able to claim transitional credit due to GSTIN technical glitches or any other reasons.
The decision will address genuine concerns in claiming the transitional credit, for the reasons stated in the order. We are of the opinion that credit missed/unavailable on account of legal interpretations or cases where it is specifically restricted under the law, needs careful analysis to ascertain if the enabling provision could be of help to taxpayer for filing transitional claim and to take requisite actions at the earliest to ensure that the benefit is availed.
Appropriate guidelines are expected to be issued by the GST Council, which needs to be evaluated for proper compliance while claiming transitional credit.
