One-time opportunity for filing/ revising TRAN-1 or TRAN-2

Provisions of section 140 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 cover transitional provisions so as to ensure that the Cenvat Credit balance in the erstwhile law is smoothly received by the taxpayer under the GST law. However, due to the new insertion, the registered person faced lots of technical and procedural issues in filing TRAN-1/ TRAN-2 which is necessary for claiming transitional credit. Lots of litigations took place in the matter, out of which many are pending before various authorities and courts. In order to clear up the matter, Hon’ble Supreme Court gave an essential direction while dealing with the case of Union of India Vs. Filco Trade Centre Pvt. Ltd. Acting on the same, a one-time opportunity is being given to the aggrieved person to file TRAN-1 and/ or TRAN-2. The current article firstly covers the direction given by the Hon’ble Supreme Court and secondly covers the guidelines issued by CBIC, vide circular no. 180/12/2022-GST dated 9^th September 2022, for filing TRAN-1/ TRAN-2.

Direction of Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter –

Hon’ble Supreme Court, in the case of Union of India Vs. Filco Trade Centre Pvt. Ltd., has provided the following directions –

Direction to Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) –

To open GST common portal for filing Transitional Credit form TRAN-1 as well as TRAN-2 for two months.
To ensure that there are no technical glitches in GST common portal during the time the portal is kept open for filing Transitional Credit form TRAN-1 and/or TRAN-2.

Direction to the aggrieved registered assessee –

To file/ revise TRAN-1 and/or TRAN-2. Importantly, filing/ revising TRAN-1/ TRAN-2 is possible irrespective of the following –

Whether the aggrieved registered assessee has filed a writ petition before the High Court or not; or
Whether the case of the aggrieved registered assessee has been decided by Information Technology Grievance Redressal Committee.

Direction for processing the claim filed via TRAN-1/ TRAN-2 –

The concerned officer is required to verify the correctness of the claim filed within a period of 90 days.
After verification, the concerned officer needs to pass an appropriate order on merits. Notably, before passing an order, the officer mandatorily needs to give an opportunity of being heard.
Once the transitional credit is allowed, it should be reflected in the Electronic Credit Ledger.

Guidelines for filing/ revising TRAN-1 or TRAN-2 –

Adhering to the direction given by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the facility for filing/ revising TRAN-1/ TRAN-2 will be made available on the GST common portal from the period 1^st October 2022 to 30^th November 2022. Accordingly, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has provided detailed guidelines via circular no. 180/12/2022-GST dated 9^th September 2022. According to the guidelines, steps for filing/ revising TRAN-1/ TRAN-2 are highlighted hereunder – STEP 1 – File TRAN-1/ TRAN-2 or revise TRAN-1/ TRAN-2. STEP 2 – Upload a pdf copy of the declaration in Annexure-A (please note Annexure-A is given in circular no. 180/12/2022-GST dated 9^th September 2022. STEP 3 – Upload all the other required documents like –

In case credit is claimed in table 7A of TRAN-1 i.e., on the basis of the Credit Transfer Document. Then, upload a pdf copy of TRAN-3 covering details as prescribed vide notification no. 21/2017-CE (NT) dated 30^th June 2017, etc.

STEP 4 – After uploading all the required documents, click the ‘submit’ button. STEP 5 – Click ‘File’ button and file TRAN-1/ TRAN-2 using either Digital Signature Certificate or Electronic Verification Code. STEP 6 – After filing/ revising TRAN-1/ TRAN-2 online, submit the self-certified copy of TRAN-1/ TRAN-2 (along with declaration in Annexure-A and TRAN-3) to the jurisdictional officer within a period of 7 days from the date of filing TRAN-1/ TRAN-2 on GST common portal.

Important points and clarifications –

A One-time opportunity for filing or revising TRAN-1/ TRAN-2 is available on the common portal from 1^st October 2022 to 30^th November 2022.
The registered person who has successfully filed TRAN-1/ TRAN-2 and is not required to make any revision thereof is not required to file or revise TRAN-1/ TRAN-2. In such a case, the appropriate remedy is to file an appeal against the order or follow any other alternative remedy as per law.
Transition credit claimed in table 5(b) and table 5(c) of TRAN-1 should not be in respect of C-Forms/ F-Forms/ H-Forms/ I-Forms which has been issued after 27^th December 2017.
While filing a claim in TRAN-2, the applicant should file one consolidated claim for the entire period. Notably, in column ‘Tax Period’, the applicant should select the last month of the consolidated claim period.

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