The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) has directed its Registry to inform the Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) that 13 tax commissionerates remained unrepresented in proceedings concerning a transfer application involving Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited.
The bench of President Justice (Retd.) Dr. Sanjaya Kumar Mishra said notices had been sent through its portal, by email and by speed post, yet no one appeared for those respondents at the hearing on September 28, 2026.
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The Tribunal recorded that, following its earlier order of September 7, a notice dated September 16 was issued to the respondents through the portal, email and speed post. It also noted that departmental representatives from different commissionerates had confirmed receipt of the notice along with a physical copy of the transfer application.
Despite those steps, the order recorded no appearance on behalf of 13 commissionerates, including offices in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Calling attention to their non-representation, the Tribunal directed the Registry to notify each of the 13 commissionerates and communicate the lack of response to the CBIC Chairman. It ordered the Registry to act forthwith.
Representatives who appeared for several other respondents sought seven days to reply to the transfer application. The Tribunal allowed replies to be filed by October 5, 2026. It gave the same opportunity to the absent parties and listed the matter for October 6, 2026.
During the hearing, a representative pointed out that one appeal identified in the proceedings was against the State GST Commissionerate at Agartala, Tripura, but notice had not been sent to that office. The Tribunal directed that a fresh notice be issued to the Chief Commissioner of State GST, Agartala, through the portal and email.
The order also records a submission that cross-objections had been filed in Form APL-06 in one of the matters. The Tribunal said its interim order of September 7 would apply to those cross-objections and directed that the interim order continue until the next hearing.
The Tribunal separately raised concern about the attire of representatives and revenue officers appearing before it. Referring to Rule 22 of the GSTAT Procedural Rules, 2025, it observed that many were attending proceedings in casual dress despite the prescribed dress code.
The Tribunal said the concerned commissionerates must ensure that their officers attend in proper uniform even when appearing virtually. It directed the Registry to communicate this issue to the commissionerates that are parties to the case.
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