Allahabad HC Permits Petitioner for Uploading GST ITC-01 Form to Claim ITC

The taxpayer/applicant has been permitted to upload ITC-01 to enable him to avail of Input Tax Credit for shifting from the Composite Scheme to the Normal Scheme, Allahabad High Court rendered.

The petitioner was originally enrolled in the Composition Scheme for the fiscal year 2022-23. However, due to a rise in their turnover during that fiscal year, they switched to a regular scheme after formally withdrawing from the Composition Scheme. The petitioner argued that as a result of this transition from one scheme to another, they had the right to claim Input Tax Credit (ITC) for the inventory of inputs, such as semi-finished or finished goods, and capital goods they possessed at the time of withdrawal. They were required to submit a statement in Form GSTITC-01 on the common portal within 30 days to avail of this benefit.

The petitioner claimed that they couldn’t submit form ITC-01 to access eligible Input Tax Credit (ITC) as per Section 18 (1) (c) of the SGST Act, 2017 due to technical glitches on the GST Portal. Additionally, they asserted that they had followed the provisions of Rule 40 (1) (b) of the SGST Rules, and had also prepared and certified a summary of eligible ITC related to their existing inventory.

The petitioner argued that their requests for obtaining this benefit had gone unanswered by the authorities. They cited the cases of M/s Pradip Chemanlal Mevada vs. Union of India and Ezzy Electricals vs. State of Gujarat, where the Gujarat High Court had instructed the Respondent-Department to allow the petitioners to submit GST form ITC-01 and claim Input Tax Credit.

In contrast, the Respondent’s counsel argued that since the petitioner was responsible for the delay, they should not be entitled to the benefits.

The bench including Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice Ashutosh Srivastava ruled that

“We find that the case of the petitioner is on the same footing as the petitioners before the Gujarat High Court. We are of the opinion that the petitioner is equally circumstanced and is entitled to the relief as has been granted by the Gujarat High Court to the petitioners before it, particularly in view of the fact that no contrary case law has been cited by the counsel for the respondents.”

As per that the Court directed the Respondent to accomplish the needful so as to enable the applicant to upload ITC-01 and claim an Input Tax Credit worth Rs. 31,18,718.