Delhi High Court Refuses To Interfere With Rejection Of AAI's ₹9.34 Crore CENVAT Credit

The Delhi High Court has refused to interfere with an order of the GST authority rejecting CENVAT Credit to the tune of Rs.9.34 crores claimed by the Airport Authority of India.A division bench comprising justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain noted that the central authority had failed to furnish documents in support of its claim and said, “there is no jurisdictional error or arbitrary exercise of power in the passing of the adjudication order which warrants interreference under writ jurisdiction.”The dispute relates to the period April to June, 2017 wherein AAI wanted to avail of credit amounting to Rs.17,40,24,033/-. Since the said quarter relates to the period just before the GST regime came into effect, the authority had earlier filed ST-3 Return (service tax return in erstwhile regime) in which it had claimed Rs. 8,06,12,708/- as CENVAT Credit. AAI contended that by the time it wanted to amend the said return, the portal did not permit the same as the GST regime had set in.The authority then filed TRAN-1 Form (transition form enabling claim of taxes paid prior to GST regime), praying for CENVAT Credit of ₹17.40 crores (8 crore already claimed and 9.34 crore additional). However, it is contended that the Adjudicating Authority rejected the same stating that the same was not reflected in the ST-3 Return.AAI contended that since it was only a software glitch due to which the ST-3 Return could not be filed, the benefit ought to be extended.Reliance was placed on the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs v. Aberdare Technologies Private Limited and Ors. (2025) where the Supreme Court held that software limitations would not be a good justification for not extending benefits.The Department however submitted that it had in fact looked at TRAN-1 which was filed by the AAI and various documents and clarifications were sought. However, the same were not submitted by AAI and hence, the said credit was rejected.The High Court noted that in its rejoinder, AAI did not deny that the documents were not submitted. It thus observed,“Clearly, merely because of the dismantling of the earlier portal and shifting of the filing of returns to the GST portal is not the only reason that has been cited in the impugned order. From the pleadings it becomes clear that the documents to support the claim, to the extent of Rs.9.34 crores were not submitted by the Petitioner apart from filing a Chartered Accountant's certificate, etc. along with some documents.”As such, it refused to exercise extraordinary writ jurisdiction and relegated AAI to appeal under Section Section 107 GST Act.Appearance: Mr. Prakash Sinha & Mr. Ayush Kumar, Advs for Petitioner; Mr. Arun Khatri, SSC with Ms. Anoushka Bhalla, Ms. Poonam Rani & Ms. Priyanka, Advs for RespondentsCase title: AAI v. Union of IndiaCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 1245Case no.: W.P.(C) 643/2024Click here to read order

Delhi High Court Refuses To Interfere With Rejection Of AAI's ₹9.34 Crore CENVAT Credit

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