Procedure for appointment of President, CESTAT - Rules Notified
AS per Rule 10 of the CESTAT Members (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1987, the Central Government shall appoint a person who is or has been a judge of a High Court or one of the Members of the Appellate Tribunal to be the President. The Supreme Court in case of R K Jain Vs UOI - 2002-TIOL-405-SC-CEGAT-LB observed "to instil the confidence of the litigating public in the CEGAT, the Government must make a sincere effort to appoint a sitting Judge of the High Court as a President of the CEGAT in consultation of the Chief Justice of India and if a sitting Judge is not available the choice must fall on a retired Judge as far as possible." Accordingly, retired judges of High Court are being appointed as Presidents.
Recently, the Government has notified separate Rules for recruitment of the President, CESTAT, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 129, read with sub-section (1) of section 156 of the Customs Act, 1962. These Rules are called "The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (Procedure for Appointment as President) Rules, 2016". As per the new Rules, the selection of President shall be through a Committee. As per Rule 3,
3. Method of recruitment. - (1) Vacancy shall be circulated through open advertisement and applicants shall be asked to forward complete application through Registrars of High Court or Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, as the case may be.
(2) For the purpose of appointment to the post of President, there shall be a Selection Committee consisting of the following Members, namely:-
(a) the Chief Justice of India or a Judge of the Supreme Court of India as nominated by the Chief Justice of India as Chairman;
(b) the Secretary to the Government of India, in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue;
(c) the Secretary to the Government of India, in the Ministry of Law & Justice, Department of Legal Affairs;
(d) the Secretary to the Government of India, in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training.
(3) Any three members of the Selection Committee including the Chairman shall form a quorum for the meeting of the committee.
(4) The Selection Committee may devise its own procedure for selection and appointment of the President.
(5) The Selection Committee shall recommend a panel of three names in order of priority for appointment of President .
President Goda Raghu Ram will retire in March 2016 and perhaps the new President will be appointed under the above Rules. As it is not desirable to leave the CESTAT without a President, the process should begin immediately.
Identical Rules have also been notified for Appointment of Chairman and Vice Chairman of Authority of Advance Rulings under sub-section 3 of Section 245-O read with sub-section (1), clause (p) of sub-section (2) of Section 295 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Can a Tribunal Member be selected as President, CESTAT? Please see: Appointment of CESTAT President: A Forgotten Alternative
F. No. A. 50050/20/2015-Ad.1C (CESTAT) & F. No. Q.23016/6/2015-Ad.IC(AAR)] dated January 21, 2016