Poomuttath Venugopal Vinod Vs Assistant Commissioner (Kerala High Court)
In Poomuttath Venugopal Vinod Vs Assistant Commissioner, the petitioner, a daily wage Production Assistant in the Malayalam film industry and a member of FEFKA Production Assistants Union, challenged an assessment order issued under the CGST Act. The petitioner approached the High Court through a writ petition instead of availing the statutory appellate remedy under Section 107 of the CGST Act. The primary contention was that he qualified as a “cine worker” under the Cine Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1981, and due to the non obstante clause in Section 21 of that Act, the CGST assessment lacked jurisdiction.
The Court held that the assessment order was appealable under Section 107 of the CGST Act, and therefore, the writ petition was not the appropriate remedy. On the issue of jurisdiction, the Court examined the definition of “cine worker” under Section 2(c) of the 1981 Act, which includes a wage ceiling of ₹1,600 per month or ₹15,000 as a lump sum. Based on the figures reflected in the assessment order, the petitioner’s remuneration exceeded this statutory limit. Consequently, the Court found that the petitioner did not qualify as a “cine worker” under the Act.
