Pay Scale Upgradation: Similarly situated employees are entitled to equal benefit of enhanced pay scale.

The applicant, Sujit Pushpshil Gaekwad, retired as Assistant Commissioner of Central GST & Customs, filed the present Original Application (OA) challenging the denial of upgraded pay scale with retrospective effect from January 1, 1996.

The applicant contended that similarly placed Inspectors/Superintendents of Central GST & Central Excise had been granted the enhanced pay scale from January 1, 1996, instead of April 21, 2004, following judgments by the Hon’ble Apex Court, Hon’ble High Courts, and various coordinate Benches of the Tribunal.

An order dated November 24, 2025, from the Department of Revenue, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, was placed on record, indicating the extension of this benefit to applicants in similar OAs on an 'in personam' basis.

The applicant's representation for similar benefits was rejected via an order dated January 30, 2026.

The delay in filing the application was condoned through MA No. 94/2026.

Whether the applicant, a retired Assistant Commissioner of Central GST & Central Excise, is entitled to the benefit of an upgraded pay scale with effect from January 1, 1996, despite the rejection of his representation?

The Tribunal applied the principle of equal treatment under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, emphasizing that benefits extended to similarly situated government employees based on judicial pronouncements should also be extended to others.

It specifically referred to the affirmation of a judgment by the Hon’ble High Court of Telangana (Writ Petition No. 10490 of 2024, Union of India Vs. R Siva Shankara Sastry) by the Hon’ble Apex Court on February 28, 2025, in SLP No. 59005/2024 (Union of India Vs. R Siva Shankara Sastry), which granted enhanced pay scale benefit from January 1, 1996, to Inspectors/Superintendents.

The Tribunal noted that the issue of granting enhanced pay scale from January 1, 1996, to Inspectors/Superintendents of Central GST & Central Excise had attained finality, with respondents extending the benefit to similarly placed officers based on previous court orders.

The Tribunal observed that the applicant, who retired as an Assistant Commissioner, was similarly situated to those who had already received the benefit of enhanced pay scale from January 1, 1996.

Therefore, denying him the same benefit, especially after the rejections of his representation, was deemed contrary to the principle of equal treatment and the established legal precedents, including the Hon'ble Apex Court's upholding of the Telangana High Court judgment.

The Tribunal found that the applicant should receive the same notional benefit as directed in OA No. 411/2025, which was upheld by the Hon’ble Apex Court.

This was to be done expeditiously, preferably within 60 days from the date of receipt of the certified copy of the order, and the decision was to be intimated to the applicant forthwith.

The previous order dated January 30, 2026, rejecting the applicant's representation was to be disregarded.