Govt gets 4 weeks as ‘last opportunity’ to file status report
Srinagar, Nov 30: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh granted four weeks as the “last and final opportunity” for the government to report the latest status with regard to the constitution of the GST Tribunal in Jammu and Kashmir.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice Puneet Gupta, however, directed J&K’s Secretary Finance Department to remain present on January 1, the next date of hearing before the court in case the report was not filed.
As a suo moto Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to constitute the GST Appellate Tribunal in J&K came up for hearing, Government Advocate Faheem Nisar Shah once again sought time to comply with the directions passed by the court on August 14 this year.
The government had informed the court on August 14 that a panel constituted for the purpose, had already initiated the process for selection of the Technical Member, and that some more time was required to file the latest status report with regard to the constitution of the GST Tribunal.
The court had ordered to register the PIL after taking cognisance of the hardships that the litigants were facing in the absence of the GST Appellate Tribunal in J&K.
The court had also requested the research committee to expedite the process so that the appointment of the Technical Member is made “at the earliest”.
The court arrayed the Government of India (GoI) through its Secretary, the Ministry of Finance, as one of the respondents in the petition given the fact that the presence and consent of the officer would be necessary for constituting the GST Appellate Tribunal.
Section 109 of the Central Goods and Services Act mandates the constitution of a GST Appellate Tribunal, which has not been constituted in J&K so far.