Since the implementation of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act ( CGST ), 2017, the Supreme Court and the High Courts have continuously requested to constitute an Appellate Tribunal to resolve the disputes of the taxpayers.
However, finally on 24th March 2023 (Friday), the Lok Sabha passed the Finance Bill and approved the setting up of the GST Appellate Tribunal. According to the changes included in the Finance Bill 2023, which was approved by the Lok Sabha, there would be a major bench in Delhi that will hear complaints pertaining to “location of supply,” as well as benches for the GST Appellate Tribunal in each state.
It is expected that all the troubles of the taxpayers and the courts will get lessened right after the constitution of the GSTAT.
The number of cases waiting before the apex court and high courts increased significantly because there is no appellate panel to handle the issues. A recent plea for the central government to establish a temporary provision to resolve the GST disputes came from a group of industrialists.
The 49th GST Council Meeting held on February 17 has accepted the report of the group of ministers of the state on the appellate tribunal with some alterations.
Presently, taxpayers who are dissatisfied with the tax authority’s decision must file a lawsuit in high courts. Due to the high court’s existing case backlog and lack of a specialised bench to handle GST disputes, the resolution procedure takes longer. If the GST Appellate Tribunal is formed, the herculean tasks of the courts will get lessened. Also, the huge backlogs of the cases can be avoided.
Also, the 50th GST Council Meeting likely to be held in June 2023 will definitely show significant progress in the area of the appellate tribunal.
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