BLUESTAR MALLEABLE PVT. LTD. Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Since both these writ applications are interconnected as such both are heard together and being disposed of by this common order.

(2.) W.P. (T) No.2043 of 2020 has been preferred by the petitioner challenging the letter dtd. 6/11/2018 (Annexure-6) issued by the respondent no.3-Superintendent, CGST and Central Excise, Jamshedpur; whereby the petitioner has been called upon to pay interest for a sum of Rs.72,49,126.00 on account of alleged irregular input tax credit taken by it on 24/8/2017 and reverted on 13/8/2018. Petitioner has also sought quashing of letter dtd. 28/1/2019 (Annexure-10) issued by the respondent no.3 whereby the objection of the petitioner against raising of the demand of interest under Sec. 50 of the Jharkhand Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 (herein after to be referred as JGST Act) has been rejected. Petitioner has further sought declaration that it is not liable to pay interest for such mistake in filing GSTR-3B for the month of July 2017 wherein inadvertently he had included the transitional credit amount of Rs.3,11,43,255.00 again though it was filed in GSTR TRAN-1 as transitional credit in terms of Sec. 140 of the Act. Petitioner has sought a protection from taking coercive action against it.

(3.) Brief facts of the case is that the petitioner found itself entitled to claim transitional credit of ITC under the provisions of the JVAT Act 2005 and submitted a declaration in form TRAN-1 as per Sec. 140 of the JGST Act, 2017 with a claim of credit for a sum of Rs.3,11,43,255.00 which was filed electronically on the common portal of the respondent department. The accountant of the petitioner company repeated the said claim of transitional credit for the same amount in the GSTR-3B furnished in July, 2017. The said repetition being due to human error, absence of adequate practice/familiarity in the working of the new concept of Goods and Services Tax laws, which had been introduced in 2017 itself. Immediately, in July, 2018 petitioner took step to reverse the said entry to rectify the error. In GSTR-3B of July 2018, the sum of Rs.3,11,43,255.00 has been reversed towards Input Tax Credit of SGST. It is specific case of the petitioner that the said amount of transitional credit mistakenly mentioned in form GSTR-3B for July 2017 was never utilized by the petitioner company against the output tax liabilities arising out of daily business transactions.