The Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council meeting held at the Vigyan Bhavan, Delhi on Saturday, 18 February has concluded with some key decisions on the highly anticipated GST Appellate Tribunal. The Group of Minister (GoM) recommendations were accepted by the Council subject to some minor language modifications.
The proposed Structure of GST Tribunal will have a National level Principal bench, along with separate benches at state levels. Each bench is expected to have a strength of Four Members, 2 Judicial and 2 Technical.
The GoM and the Council have taken a balanced approach in this regard. One Judicial Member will be from the Centre, and the other from the state. The same applies to Technical Member composition also. ie., Both the State and Centre will have equal representation in the adjudicatory proceedings, resembling the constitution of Authorities for Advance Ruling (AAR).
No Regional Benches are currently under consideration of the GST Council for ensuring proper State Government representation.
States are also proposed to be given the power to form multiple benches within the state, depending on the population or additional local benches as per high business activity of a region inside the state.
Constitution of a single bench for multiple low population states like the North-Eastern States is also under consideration. The GST Council also clarified that there will be no threshold or monetary minimum limit for approaching the State or National GSTAT benches.
The Council adopted the report of the Group of Ministers (GoM) with certain modifications. The final draft amendments to the GST laws shall be circulated to Members for their comments. The Chairperson has also been authorized to finalize the same.
The GST Act was passed in 2017, and it mandated the formation of GST Tribunals to hear appeals against the decisions of the GST Council. However, the government has been slow in forming these tribunals, and as a result, many cases are pending before various high courts and higher judicial bodies.
The delay in forming the GST Tribunals is due to a variety of reasons, including the lack of infrastructure and manpower, as well as disagreements between the central and state governments over the selection of members.
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