GST Council recommendation challenge to Section 168-A notifications kept open, with interim restraint on final action.

Notifications issued under Section 168-A of the CGST Act and the Uttar Pradesh GST Act were challenged on the ground that a GST Council recommendation was a statutory precondition and had not been obtained. The respondents relied on the 53rd GST Council meeting and the GST Implementation Committee, but the Court did not finally decide the validity of the notifications at this stage. It permitted a counter-affidavit on the ratification issue and kept the challenge open for further hearing, while restraining the respondents from passing any final order until further orders.

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Issues: Whether the impugned notifications issued under Section 168-A of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 were liable to be invalidated for absence of the GST Council's recommendation, and whether the respondents should be called upon to justify the claimed ratification.

Analysis: The petition raised a challenge to the notifications on the ground that the statutory precondition under Section 168-A required a recommendation of the GST Council. The respondents referred to the 53rd GST Council meeting and the decision of the GST Implementation Committee, but the Court did not render a final adjudication on the validity of the notifications at this stage and instead permitted filing of a counter affidavit on the issue.

Outcome: The matter was left open for counter-affidavit and further hearing, and the respondents were restrained from passing any final order until further orders.

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