Kerala HC on GST for Petrol & Diesel: Directives to GST Council & Govt

The Kerala High Court addressed a Public Interest Litigation concerning the inclusion of petrol and diesel under the GST regime. The court directed the Goods and Services Tax Council to forward one representation to the Union of India for a decision within six weeks and instructed the Chief Secretary of the Government of Kerala to dispose of another representation. It was emphasized that no mandamus could be issued to the GST Council to make a decision. The writ petition was disposed of in line with these directions, with pending interlocutory applications closed.

---

---

Issues:
1. Inclusion of petrol and diesel under the GST regime.
2. Violation of Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.
3. Disposal of representations submitted to the concerned authorities.

Analysis:
The Kerala High Court dealt with a Public Interest Litigation filed by Kerala Pradesh Gandhi Darshanvedi seeking various reliefs related to the inclusion of petrol and diesel under the GST regime. The petitioner urged the court to issue a writ of mandamus directing the concerned authorities to include petrol and diesel in the GST regime to achieve a harmonized national market as per Article 279 A (6) of the Constitution of India. The petitioner also argued that the exclusion of petrol and diesel from the GST regime violated Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

The petitioner had submitted representations, Exhibit P2 and P3, to the GST Council Secretariat and the Chief Secretary of the Government of Kerala, respectively, requesting the inclusion of petrol and diesel under the GST regime. The court noted that these representations were pending before the authorities, prompting the petitioner's counsel to seek a direction for their disposal within a specific timeframe.

During the proceedings, the learned counsel for the Chief Secretary of the Government of Kerala expressed no objection to considering the representations, while the Assistant Solicitor General representing the Union of India and the Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas stated that the decision to include or exclude items from the GST regime is a policy matter.

The court, considering the arguments and precedents, directed the Goods and Services Tax Council to forward the Exhibit P2 representation to the Union of India for a decision within six weeks. Similarly, the Chief Secretary of the Government of Kerala was instructed to dispose of the Exhibit P3 representation. The court emphasized that no mandamus could be issued to the GST Council to make a decision, as established in a previous Division Bench judgment.

In conclusion, the writ petition was disposed of in accordance with the directions given for the disposal of the representations submitted by the petitioner. The court ordered the closure of any pending interlocutory applications related to the case.

---