SRINAGAR, DEC 23: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has sought a response by March 11 from the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, for constituting the GST Appellate Tribunal in Jammu and Kashmir.
Hearing a suo-moto Public Interest Litigation, a division bench of Chief Justice N.Kotiswar Singh and Justice M.A. Chowdhary arrayed the Government of India through its Secretary, Ministry of Finance as respondent, “considering the fact that the presence and consent of the officer will be necessary for constituting the GST Appellate Tribunal.”
Accordingly, on the asking of the court, T M Shamsi, DSGI, entered an appearance and he accepted notice on behalf of the Secretary.
“He may file his response by or before the next date of hearing,” the court said and ordered the listing of the PIL on March 11.
The court had earlier this year registered the PIL suo-moto, considering that the GST Appellate tribunal is not in place and as such the litigants are facing considerable hardships. Given the complexity of the issue, the court-appointed senior advocate R A Jan as amicus curiae.
Pertinently, the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal is the forum of the second appeal in GST laws and the first common forum of dispute resolution between the Centre and States. The appeals against the orders in the first appeals issued by the Appellate Authorities under the Central and State GST Acts lie before the GST Appellate Tribunal, which is common under the Central as well as State GST Acts. Being a common forum, GST Appellate Tribunal will ensure that there is uniformity in the redressal of disputes arising under GST, and therefore, in the implementation of GST across the country. Chapter XVIII of the CGST Act provides for the Appeal and Review Mechanism for dispute resolution under the GST Regime. Section 109 of this Chapter under the CGST Act empowers the Central Government to constitute, on the recommendation of the Council, by notification, with effect from such date as may be specified therein, an Appellate Tribunal known as the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal for hearing appeals against the orders passed by the Appellate Authority or the Revisional Authority.
