S.S. Pharma Vs State of U.P. And 2 Others (Allahabad High Court)
Summary: The Allahabad High Court considered the functioning of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) in Uttar Pradesh in light of an affidavit filed by the Joint Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. The affidavit was filed in compliance with an earlier order and was relied upon by the learned ASGI to submit that the GST Appellate Tribunals in Uttar Pradesh were fully functional and discharging their duties.
The Court, however, found that the contents of the affidavit did not support that submission. Instead, the affidavit disclosed what the Court described as a disturbing position concerning the availability of requisite officers and technical personnel. According to the affidavit, 86 posts across various levels had been sanctioned for the GST Appellate Tribunal, State of Uttar Pradesh, by order dated 10.05.2024, followed by sanction of six additional posts by order dated 05.05.2026. Thus, against a total of 92 sanctioned posts, only 29 had been filled, while the process for filling only six posts was stated to be underway. The affidavit consequently showed 63 vacant posts, which remained to be filled.
The Court noted that a circular regarding the vacancies had been issued on 14.09.2024, but the affidavit did not disclose concrete, effective or time-bound steps taken by the competent authority to actually fill the vacancies. The Court observed that mere issuance of circulars and advertisements could not constitute compliance with the obligation to make the statutory appellate forum functional. According to the Court, what was required was demonstrable and effective action culminating in actual filling of the vacancies.
