GST Tribunals may be delayed by 6 months as states yet to appoint officials

The much-anticipated Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunals (GSTAT) may take another six months to become operational. Many states are yet to appoint members or allocate office spaces, delaying the process, according to a report by The Economic Times. Initially, the tribunals were expected to start functioning by December 2024.

 

“Appointments to the state bench and supporting staff for the members are pending...This may take another six months,” a senior official told the news daily, on condition of anonymity.

 

The GSTAT will have 44 benches, each with four members — three from the central government and one from the state government. While applications and interviews for these positions are complete, the final verification and shortlisting are still underway.

GSTAT setup faces delays

 

Real estate allocation is another bottleneck, with only 50 per cent of the tribunal locations identified so far. On the tech side, software for the tribunals is ready, but IT infrastructure is still being procured, expected to be in place by March 2025, The Economic Times mentioned. 

 

In May 2023, the Centre appointed Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, former Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court, as the GSTAT president for a four-year term. Experts believe that once fully functional, the GSTAT will significantly reduce the burden on courts and provide relief to businesses.

 

What are the GSTA Tribunals?

Since GST came into effect, there have been many issues about its rules, rates, and refunds. Without special branches to handle GST cases, people had to go to the High Courts, which caused problems for taxpayers. To solve this, the GST Council decided to create GST Appellate Tribunals (GSTATs) under the Central Goods and Service Tax 2017. 

 

The GST Appellate Tribunal is a special body set up to handle GST disputes at a higher level. It acts as the second appeal under GST laws and provides a common platform for resolving disputes between the Centre and states. This ensures faster and more consistent decisions. The main bench of the GST Appellate Tribunal is in New Delhi.

 

The Tribunal includes a National Bench in New Delhi with a President (leader), one Judicial Member, and Technical Members from both the state and Centre. State benches may also have two Judicial Members and two Technical Members (one each from the Centre and state).

 

The Tribunal does not follow the strict rules of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, but works based on fairness and has the authority to set its own procedures. It has powers like a civil court to summon people, ask for documents, and accept evidence in the form of affidavits.