HC grants 2 more weeks to Govt for status report

Srinagar, Nov 11: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh Monday asked the government to report within two weeks about the status of the constitution of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Appellate Tribunal in J&K.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice M A Chowdhary granted further time to the government to file a status report after its counsel requested for the same for complying with the directions that the court had issued on August 14 this year.

On August 14, the government submitted that a committee, 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 was hearing on its motion a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to constitute the GST Appellate Tribunal in J&K.

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 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.