The government aims to make all benches of the GSTAT operational by the end of November, in an effort to address the growing backlog of GST-related disputes at the appellate level, according to a senior official’s statement to Financial Express.
On May 6, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman administered the oath to Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, former Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court, as the President of the GST Appellate Tribunal ( GSTAT ).
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As of June 2023, over 15,000 appeals against tax demands raised by Central GST authorities were pending, official data shows. The GSTAT, established under the Central GST Act, 2017, is tasked with hearing appeals against decisions made by the first appellate authority. It consists of a Principal Bench in New Delhi and multiple state benches. The government, following approval from the GST Council, has notified the creation of 31 state benches across the country.
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Additionally, the Goods and Services Tax Network ( GSTN ) has developed a digital platform to streamline the dispute resolution process within the GSTAT. This portal, ready to launch once the benches are operational, will enable electronic filing of appeals, reducing paperwork and administrative effort.
Read More: GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) Establishment: A Chronology of the 7 Year Long Wait
In addition, the design architecture for implementing GST B2C e-invoicing for retailers is mostly ready and being vetted by industry experts, GST Network CEO Manish Kumar Sinha said on Tuesday.
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E-invoicing is already present in the B2B sector. The GST Council, in its meeting earlier this month, decided to extend e-invoice to the B2C sector on a pilot basis.
Tax experts believe the digital system will significantly cut down on the time required for processing appeals, speeding up both the resolution of disputes and the recovery of revenue.
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