Non-formation of GST Tribunal: Gujarat HC issues notice to Central Govt in Refund Claim Case [Read Order]

The Gujarat High Court has recently issued notice to the Central Government seeking the steps taken towards the formulation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) Tribunal in a Civil Application filed by Firmenich Aromatics Production (INDIA) Private Limited.

The petitioner, a private limited company, registered under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956, approached the Gujarat High Court, aggrieved by the action of the respondent authority in rejecting the refund claim of the petitioner and upholding the refund rejection on the ground that the Letter of Undertaking or Bond required under Section 16 of the Integrated Goods & Services Tax (IGST) Act, 2017 read with Rule 96A of Central Goods & Services Tax (CGST) Rules, 2017, had not been furnished.

A request of the petitioner was already pending for the condonation of delay, ignorant to which, the impugned order was passed.

The main issue framed by the counsel for the petitioner, Bharat Raichandani assisted by Anshul Jain is the non-formation of GST Tribunal.

A notice returnable on 21^st December was issued to the Central Government by the Division Bench of Justice Sonia Gokani and Justice Mauna M Bhatt with directions for ASG to take instructions.

The Central Government has not yet set-up the Tribunal for addressing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) matters and cases are piling up at High Courts for judicial redressal of appeals. This has greatly increased the workload of the High Courts.

The 48^th GST Council is going to be held virtually on 17th December to analyze the Group of Ministers(GoM) report on appellate tribunals and discuss the decriminalization of GST Law by setting a prosecution threshold. The tax framework of the online gaming industry, with a GST of

28% is also likely to be discussed.

According to reports, the Centre is aiming to set up the GST Appellate Tribunals (GSTATs) across the country by December next year with the Principal Bench in New Delhi to quickly resolve disputes relating to the key indirect tax, and further improve ease of doing business and boost tax collections.

The Supreme Court had earlier insisted that the GST Tribunal Should be Completely Paperless and should strictly follow the e-filing mode while pursuing revenue litigation in High Courts and specialized fora like CESTAT, ITAT and especially GST Tribunal.

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