GST Appellate Tribunal

Subject :Economy

Section: Fiscal Policy

Concept :

The 50th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council was held under the chairpersonship of Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman recommended the notification of the GST appellate tribunal by the centre with effect from 01.08.2023.

Goods and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT)

The Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) mandates the constitution of a Goods and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal(GSTAT) and its Benches.
GSTAT would be a specialized appellate authority for resolving disputes.
The GSTAT is envisaged as the body that will help adjudicate and resolve disputes around the indirect tax scheme and protect the rights of taxpayers and the revenue interests of the union and state governments.

Delay in setting up of GSTAT

GSTAT has not yet been applied even after 5 years of GST execution.
Multiple reasons exist for the late GSTAT creation such as the qualification and experience criteria of technical members, the number and constitution of Benches, and the figure of a search and selection committee.

Proposed composition of GSTAT

A four-member appellate tribunal is likely to be set up in each state.
Each state appellate tribunal would have two technical members (one officer each from the centre and states) and two judicial members.
The judicial members will be selected from a panel of serving or retired High Court and District Court judges.
Division Bench
A division bench comprising two members — one technical and one judicial — will decide the appeals brought before it.
As per the proposal, each state appellate tribunal will have two division benches and thus will be able to deal with more appeals.

National Appellate Tribunal

There will also be a National Appellate Tribunal, which would be set up in Delhi. It will comprise one judicial member and one technical member.
The national appellate bench will mainly look into appeal cases on disputes between the department and assessee over the ‘place of supply’ under the GST regime. It, however, will not take up any appeal with regard to divergent rulings by state appellate tribunals.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Appellate Tribunal is likely to be headed by a former Supreme Court judge or a former Chief Justice of a High Court.
Framework of GST Tribunal is likely to permit the resolution of disputes involving dues or fines of less than Rs. 50 lakh by a single-member bench.