Manual ITC-02 Allowed Where Portal Blocks ITC Transfer

Centax Editorial Board

April 17, 2026April 18, 2026

• 2 min. read

Case Details: Emerson Process Management (India) Pvt Ltd. vs. Union of India (2026) 41 Centax 207 (Guj.)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

A.S. Supehia & Pranav Trivedi, JJ.
Shri Uchit N Sheth, for the Petitioner.
Shri Shashvata U Shukla, Senior Standing Counsel, for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner, engaged in the manufacture of safety valves and components, was registered under GST in multiple States and underwent an amalgamation approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), whereby all assets and liabilities, including unutilized input tax credit, were transferred. The unutilized credit pertained mainly to CGST carried forward from Central Excise through TRAN-1, and the petitioner restricted its claim to such CGST credit while recording the balance manually. Upon attempting transfer of such credit through statutory Form GST ITC-02, the GST portal displayed a restriction stating that the transferor and transferee must be situated in the same State or Union Territory. The department endorsed the same remark on Form ITC-02 and did not resolve the request for transfer. The petitioner sought acceptance of manual filing of Form ITC-02 in the absence of an enabling online mechanism. The matter was accordingly placed before the High Court.

High Court Held

The High Court held that the amalgamation and existence of unutilized input tax credit were undisputed and that the denial on the GST portal arose from a restriction not supported by statutory provisions. It was observed that Section 18(3) of the CGST Act read with Rule 41 of the CGST Rules permitted transfer of input tax credit on amalgamation and did not prohibit such transfer on the ground that entities were located in different States. The Court held that the department could not incorporate conditions in statutory Form ITC-02 which were not prescribed under law, and that the remark on the GST portal had no legal basis. It was further held that the absence of an online mechanism could not defeat a statutory entitlement. Accordingly, the respondents were required to accept Form ITC-02 manually and allow transfer of input tax credit.