PIL filed before Allahabad High Court seeking establishment of State Bench of GST Tribunal in Lucknow

The Allahabad High Court will hear this week a petition filed by the Awadh Bar Association seeking the establishment of the State Bench of the Goods and Services Tax Tribunal (GST Tribunal) at Lucknow (Awadh Bar Association v. Union of India)..On Tuesday, the Lucknow Bench of the High Court listed the matter for hearing on March 4..The Bench of Justices Ritu Raj Awasthi and Manish Mathur gave one day’s time to the Central government, the GST Council, the Uttar Pradesh government and other respondents to take appropriate instructions in the matter..The Awadh Bar Association has submitted before the Court that the recommendations laid down in the 40th GST Council Meet, which had proposed to establish the State Bench of GST Tribunal in Lucknow, should be implemented.The Association has sought the following reliefs in their plea:.To issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the respondent no. 2 (GST Council) to forward the recommendation contained in Agenda item No. 7 of the minutes of its 40th meeting dated 12.06.2020 forthwith. To issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus commanding the Opp-party No. 1 (Union of India) to establish the State Bench of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 at Lucknow and also the Area Benches in view proposal of State Government 29.05.2020 and the decision of the GST Council dated 12.06.2020;.The Association was represented by Senior Advocates HGS Parihar and JN Mathur, assisted by Advocate Prafulla Tiwari. Additional Solicitor General for India Shashi Prakash Singh appeared for the Centre..The establishment of the GST Tribunal has been one of the reasons why the Lucknow Bar is currently boycotting courts..Why Bar Associations in Uttar Pradesh are abstaining from judicial work.In 2018, the GST Council had asked the Uttar Pradesh government to place its preference for the establishment of the State Bench of the Tribunal in accordance with the GST Act, 2017.Accordingly, in 2019, the State government recommended and notified that Lucknow would be a better option, as it is ‘centrally located' and already has the Commercial Tax Tribunal. Hence, Lucknow was notified as the State Bench with various subordinate benches across UP..Then on February 28, 2019, a petition [WP (Tax) 655/2018] was filed before the Allahabad High Court challenging the establishment of the main bench of the GST Tribunal at Lucknow. Accordingly, the High Court passed an order commenting upon the proposal laid down by the State government and favoured the establishment of the State Bench at Allahabad instead of Lucknow.The government then modified its previous order and recommended that the main bench of the GST Tribunal would be established at Allahabad (Prayagraj)..On May 31, 2019, a Division Bench of Justices Alok Mathur and DK Arora quashed the Government Order dated March 15, 2019, which had notified that the main seat would be established at Allahabad. In Oudh Bar Association v. Union of India he Bench held,“...the amended proposal dated 15.03.2019 sent by the Commissioner, Commercial Tax is quashed. Consequently the earlier proposal dated 21.02.2019, which was a reasoned and considered one, shall be acted upon and GST Benches shall be constituted accordingly, expeditiously, say within three months.”.Interestingly, the GST Council then held a number of meetings and in its 40th meeting, it was decided that the main bench of the GST Tribunal would be established in Lucknow. The same was notified on June 12, 2020.On February 9, 2021, the Allahabad High Court passed another order in M/S Torque Pharmaceuticals v. Union of India. A Division Bench of Justices Surya Prakash Kesarwani and Dr. Yogendra Kumar Srivastava quashed the decision of GST Council dated June 12, 2020, which re-established the main GST bench at Lucknow. Interestingly, the Court quashed the decision of the GST Council on the basis of the Government Order, which was already quashed by the Lucknow Bench in the Oudh Bar Association case..The following orders were issued by this Bench:The GST Council shall forward its recommendation of Agenda Item No.6 of the 39th Meeting held on March 14, 2020, to the Central Government/ respondent No.1 within two weeks. The Central Government is directed to specify, by notification in terms of sub-Section (6) of Section 109 of the CGST Act, the “State Bench” at Prayagraj (Allahabad) of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal and four Area Benches at Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Varanasi and Agra, in the State of Uttar Pradesh for exercising the powers of the Appellate Tribunal. This was to be done within four weeks The respondent were directed to ensure that the State Bench and the Area Benches of the Appellate Tribunal (Goods and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal) in the State of Uttar Pradesh are made functional as far as possible from April 1, 2021..Now, the Awadh Bar Council has filed this new petition before the Lucknow Bench to direct the concerned authorities to implement the GST Council’s recommendations that Lucknow should be the main bench of the GST Tribunal, with other subordinate benches across Uttar Pradesh..Read order