Supreme Court Transfers GST Act Writ Petitions for Uniform Interpretation

The Supreme Court transferred multiple writ petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 171 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act 2017, along with related provisions, to the High Court of Delhi for a uniform interpretation of the law. The Transfer Petitions were allowed, directing specific writ petitions from the High Courts of Bombay and Punjab and Haryana to be transferred. The petitioner before the High Court of Punjab and Haryana was granted liberty to approach the Supreme Court if needed. The National Anti-Profiteering Authority was instructed to inform the counsel in Punjab and Haryana. Registries were directed to transfer case papers promptly to Delhi for streamlined adjudication.

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Issues:
Transfer of writ petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 171 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act 2017 to the High Court of Delhi for a uniform view on the law.

Analysis:
The Supreme Court, comprising Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud and Ajay Rastogi JJ., addressed a batch of writ petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 171 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act 2017, along with Rule 126 and other related provisions. These petitions were pending before the High Courts of Delhi, Bombay, and Punjab and Haryana. Notably, twenty writ petitions were before the High Court of Delhi, while two were before the High Court of Judicature at Bombay. The petitioners in the Bombay High Court writ petitions were represented by Mr. Rohan Shah and Mr. Vinayak Bhandari.

Upon hearing the arguments presented, the Supreme Court deemed it appropriate to ensure a consistent and uniform interpretation of the law by transferring all the writ petitions to the High Court of Delhi. Consequently, the Transfer Petitions were allowed, and specific writ petitions were directed to be transferred to the High Court of Delhi. These included Writ Petition No. 3536 of 2019, Writ Petition No. 12872 of 2019, and Civil Writ Petition No. 37033 of 2019 pending before the High Courts of Bombay and Punjab and Haryana, respectively.

The Supreme Court did not issue a notice to the petitioner before the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at that stage. However, the petitioner was granted the liberty to approach the Supreme Court for appropriate directions if necessary. Furthermore, the National Anti-Profiteering Authority was instructed to forward a copy of the order to the counsel representing the petitioners in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana.

In order to facilitate the transfer process, the Registries of the respective High Courts were directed to promptly transfer the case papers to the High Court of Delhi. Additionally, the parties involved were given the liberty to seek necessary orders concerning interim relief or modifications as required. This comprehensive judgment aimed to streamline the adjudication process and ensure a consistent legal perspective on the contentious issue at hand.

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