The Indirect Tax Litigations of CBIC ( Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ) including GST will be handled by the newly appointed Sr./Jr. Standing counsels before the various high courts.
The President of India, on behalf of the Government has officially appointed this panel, which will serve for a period of three years, in accordance with Para 2.3 of Annexure-I of the Board’s letter dated December 5, 2007.
It is clarified that its field formations, including those handling GST, Central Excise, Service Tax, and Customs, may avail the services of these appointed counsels. As per the Board’s Order F. No. 2378A/13/2023-Legal (Part-IV) dated July 4, 2024, which is available on the CBIC website, these counsels were designated to manage cases from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence ( DRI ) and the Directorate General of GST Intelligence ( DGGI ) before various High Courts and other judicial fora.
This notification was issued supported by the concurrence of the Ministry of Law & Justice and the Integrated Finance Unit ( IFU ), highlighting the collaborative effort to fortify the legal framework and address indirect tax disputes effectively.
A total of 213 counsels, comprising 125 senior counsels and 88 junior counsels, to represent the department in indirect tax litigation cases across various high courts in India. The Bombay High Court (principal bench ) has the highest number of senior counsels appointed, with 12 experienced lawyers on board, closely followed by Gujarat and Madras High Courts, which have each appointed 9 senior counsels.
A Standing Counsels are lawyers appointed by the Government of India to serve as a specialised legal representative for various government bodies and departments in court proceedings. These professionals provide expert legal guidance and support to government departments and drafting critical documents to submit before the court.
In order to be eligible for appointment as Senior Standing Counsel in the CBIC, a person should be enrolled/ registered as an advocate with the High Court and have a minimum experience of five years of handling Customs and Central Excise and Service Tax matters before High Courts. With regards to the Junior counsel, the person must be enrolled in the High Court and should have minimum 3 years experience in handling indirect tax matters.
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