Journalism of Courage
GST appellate tribunal head raises concern as appeals lag expected number by wide margin
'Only about one-third of expected 2.5 lakh cases have reached appellate tribunal'.
GSTAT President Sanjaya Kumar Mishra flags low appeals, with 74,758 cases filed against an expected 2-2.5 lakh since the tribunal began operations. (File Photo)
Flagging concerns over less-than-anticipated cases filed with the appellate tribunal, GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) President Justice (retd) Sanjaya Kumar Mishra on Friday said only about one-third of the expected 2.5 lakh cases have been filed.
Speaking at the National Taxation Summit organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mishra said only 74,758 cases have been filed before the GSTAT since September last year, which shows a “lukewarm” response instead of an expected “flood of cases”.
“When I saw the number of cases that have been filed (before the GSTAT) and the number of tokens generated, I was a bit disheartened…I was expecting something around 2-2.5 lakh cases. I don’t know why (the number of cases filed is less). It may be that businesses have closed down; maybe they were cases of fake ITC (input tax credit) claims…” Mishra said.
Around 3.5 lakh cases were filed before the first appellate authority that indicated the number of second appeals could be filed before the GSTAT, but since the cases were filed in physical mode, there is no conclusive data available on the number of cases disposed of by the first appellate authority.
The GSTAT is the second appellate authority and provides a unified platform for resolving conflicts between taxpayers and tax authorities, while the first appellate authority is a Commissioner (Appeals) level officer whom a taxpayer can approach to appeal against an order or decision issued by a junior officer.
The GSTAT had then introduced a token system after consultations with the Department of Revenue and Ministry of Finance officials, Mishra said.
However, overall, only 74,758 cases were filed and about 30,000 more tokens have been issued, which is contrary to the initial expectation of a rush in filing of cases, he said, underlining that the industry does not seem to have “reciprocated the (GSTAT’s) hand of partnership”.
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Mishra asked the industry to come forward and take advantage of the GSTAT in resolving tax dispute cases.
Last month, GSTAT had allowed businesses whose cases were getting time-barred on July 31 to generate tokens on the e-filing portal.
Once the token was generated, businesses had 60 days to file the case before the appellate tribunal.
The GSTAT e-filing portal was made operational on September 24, 2025, and the deadline for filing appeals, which were time-barred, was July 31, 2026.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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