In a decisive move, the Kerala High Court has directed both Central and State authorities to wrap up the selection process for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Appellate Tribunal within a strict four-month deadline.
The directive came from a Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice A Muhamed Mustaque and Justice S Manu, who acknowledged that preliminary steps for establishing the Tribunal had already commenced. They mandated, “Given that the process is underway, we order the completion of the entire selection process within four months.”
The court’s decision emerged from a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) initiated by a chartered accountant advocating for the establishment of the GST Appellate Tribunal in Kerala, as mandated by Section 112 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act). During the hearing, the Government Pleader confirmed that the selection process was indeed in progress.
However, the Court dismissed a secondary request from the petitioners concerning the amendment of Section 169 of the CGST Act, which pertains to the service of notices under the Act. The petitioners sought a mandate for officials to serve notices through at least three alternative modes to uphold natural justice principles.
Representing the petitioners was Advocate K Latha, while Special Government Pleader Muhammed Rafiq represented the State.
