In a major step towards dispute resolution, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday formally launched the Goods and Services Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT). Terming it as an “institutional milestone”, Sitharaman said the GSTAT will begin hearings from December this year. The filing of appeals under GSTAT will happen in a staggered manner, with old cases going to get prioritised first, officials said. “The limitation period for legacy appeals extends till the 30th June, 2026. Hearings are expected to commence by December this year. So, prepare carefully, file peacefully and take confidence in the fact that we have even enabled the staggering filing approach…this will absolutely address concerns of anybody who thinks there's going to be a rush, a stampede or, you know, systems failing and so on. No. A good thought has been applied and they will be done in a staggered fashion,” Sitharaman said while addressing the event organised by the Department of Revenue for the launch of GSTAT. Sitharaman said the operationalisation of GSTAT is an important milestone, but more than that, it's a living example of how reforms in India evolve. “So, it is not a formulation which comes out of somebody's office and gets implemented, but it is something which has evolved with stakeholders putting their minds and thoughts together. It demonstrates that reforms are not static,” she said. This forum will become a “true symbol of justice for taxpayers, a pillar of trust for businesses and also a catalyst for India's continued economic growth,” she added. Revenue Secretary Arvind Srivastava said a formal appellate body will allow equitable opportunity to all sides to present their standpoint, and enable settlement of such issues in an acceptable and stable manner. "The tribunal will provide a specialised nationwide forum that can bring consistency in interpretation, predictability in outcomes and credibility to the appellate process. This is vital for strengthening the trust between taxpayers and the tax administration," he said. Though the GST laws had provisioned for setting up of the GST Appellate Tribunal, it had not become functional ever since the indirect tax regime’s rollout in July 2017. Sitharaman said states would often differ in interpreting products, their classifications and definitions, and the GST Council had to issue frequent clarifications, which resulted in unnecessary locking up of capital of businesses and affected the small, and the medium businesses or the MSMEs. “With the GSTAT coming in now, Centre and States on board, we open a new era of predictable, specialised jurisprudence. This is co-operative federalism in action and at its best providing a single reliable appellate spine for the GST across the country,” she said. The Finance Minister said aim is to have reduced legal frictions, greater simplicity, and delays in litigation addressed proactively, so cash flows move faster, MSMEs and exporters invest with confidence and citizens feel the benefits of the system. The first appeal under GST is made to tax officers, but the second appeal against the orders of the first appellate authorities under central as well as state tax administration lies with the GSTAT. Therefore, this is the first forum at which the adjudication process converges under all GST laws and all tax administrations. Taxpayers can now approach the GSTAT instead of approaching the respective High Courts directly, thereby reducing their caseload. This will be the largest Tribunal in the country with 116 members, 32 benches and 45 locations, Justice (Retd) Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, President, Principal Bench, GSTAT, said. “.any new law or any transformative law, there are differences in interpretations and applications. So now this will be not only the largest in the country having more than 116 members, 32 benches, 45 locations. Most importantly, it will be having more than 4 lakh pendency in cases from day one,” he said. The government had appointed Justice (Retd.) Mishra as President of the Principal Bench of GSTAT in May 2024. Last month, the government appointed technical and judicial members for various benches of the tribunal. In August, the government appointed Mayank Kumar Jain, retired judge of the Allahabad High Court, as a judicial member of the bench. Retired IAS officer A Venu Prasad and retired IRS officer Anil Kumar Gupta will be the Technical Member (State) and Technical Member (Centre), respectively, of GSTAT, Principal Bench, New Delhi.
