Kerala SGST Circular 16/2025: Structured Process for Reviewing Tribunal Orders and Filing Revisions Before the High Court

Background and Context

The Kerala State Goods and Services Tax Department has issued Circular No. 16/2025-Kerala SGST dated 13-06-2025 through its Office of the Commissioner, State Goods and Services Tax Department, Tax Towers, Thiruvananthapuram. This circular lays down a comprehensive procedural framework governing how jurisdictional officers and supervisory officers must evaluate orders passed by the AIT&ST/KVAT Appellate Tribunal and determine whether filing a revision petition before the Hon'ble High Court is warranted in cases where such orders are prejudicial to State revenue.

The circular, bearing File No: SGST/689/2025/Legal6, has been issued with immediate effect and applies to all concerned officers across both the Taxpayer Services Vertical and the Intelligence Vertical.

Why This Circular Was Necessary

Orders of the first appellate authority are routinely challenged before the Hon'ble Tribunal on grounds involving substantial questions of law or significant tax amounts. Once the Tribunal pronounces its decision, the revenue department must assess whether those decisions warrant further challenge before the High Court.

Under the Kerala GST framework, a revision petition against Tribunal orders can be moved before the Hon'ble High Court only in specific circumstances — primarily where:

  • The Tribunal has decided a matter erroneously, or
  • The Tribunal has failed to decide a question of law

Given the narrow scope of such revision petitions, it becomes critical that remarks prepared by jurisdictional officers are well-grounded in both law and fact. Without a structured internal review process, there is a risk of either missing legitimate grounds for revision or filing poorly supported petitions, both of which ultimately compromise the protection of State revenue.

This circular directly addresses that gap by instituting a two-tier review mechanism and prescribing the mandatory contents of every set of remarks submitted in connection with Tribunal orders.

Scope of Revision Against Tribunal Orders

A revision petition before the Hon'ble High Court against an order of the AIT&ST/KVAT Appellate Tribunal is maintainable only when:

  1. The Tribunal has rendered an erroneous decision on a point of law, or
  2. The Tribunal has omitted to adjudicate on a question of law that was before it

It is therefore imperative that before deciding to pursue a revision, the jurisdictional officer carefully examines whether either of these two grounds is genuinely made out. Mere dissatisfaction with the outcome of a Tribunal order is not a sufficient basis for approaching the High Court.