Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph said that Judicial Members of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) were qualified for elevation as judges of High Court and Supreme Court.
Speaking at the CESTAT’s silver jubilee celebrations organised by the Indirect Tax Practitioners’ Association (ITPA) in Bangalore on Friday. The CESTAT was established in 1982 and one of its Regional Bench was established in Bangalore in 2000.
ITPA President B V Kumar urged that the members of Tax Tribunal should be considered for elevation as High Court judges.
Responding to this, CJ said: “There is even a circular of Union Law and Justice Ministry which says  Tribunal’s  Members can be considered for elevation. But, it is a matter of implementation of policy.”
Dr S L Peeran, Judicial Member of CESTAT Bangalore Bench said that since its establishment in 2000, the Bangalore Bench had decided about 12,593 cases and ninety percent of them had been upheld by the Apex Court.