The GST Act requires that assessments be conducted by a “proper Officer,” a designation that the Commissioner can assign in accordance with Section 2(91) of the TNGST Act

In a recent ruling, the Madras High Court ruled that the GST ( Goods and Services Tax ) commissioner can designate the proper officers for the assessment under TNGST ( Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax ) Act, 2017. The assessee, Abhinaya Constructions challenged the impugned GST orders on the basis that the Commissioner of GST had no authority to delegate the power to the third respondent ( State tax officer), who was incorrectly identified as the second respondent in the respective writ petitions. Become an Expert in Foreign Exchange Regulations! Click here The petitioner’s counsel argued that the term “Adjudicating Authority” under Section 2(4) of the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (TNGST Act) does not encompass the Commissioner, Revisional Authority, or the Authority for Advance Ruling. Therefore, the delegation of authority under Section 5 of the GST Enactments, leading to the issuance of the contested orders, was claimed to be legally invalid. The court observed that the argument was found to be inconsistent with the GST Act’s framework. The GST Act requires that assessments be conducted by a “proper Officer,” a designation that the Commissioner can assign in accordance with Section 2(91) of the TNGST Act. The delegation of authority as specified in Notification No. 4 of 2017 under Section 5(1) of the TNGST Act was deemed appropriate, thus rejecting the petitioner’s claim. Become an Expert in Foreign Exchange Regulations! Click here Additionally, the bench of Justice C. Saravanan addressed the challenge related to the show cause notice, stating that such matters should be examined by the Appellate Authority. The court directed the petitioner to take an alternative remedy under Section 107 of the GST Act and was granted the liberty to file a statutory appeal within 30 days from the receipt of this order. The court dismissed the petition.