GSTAT state benches may miss December rollout as staffing, infra lag
The rollout of the state benches of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), the statutory body designed to resolve the indirect tax disputes, may get delayed beyond the December deadline as the necessary staff and infrastructure required for it is not yet ready, people familiar with the matter said.
The benches are meant for hearing appeals against orders passed by GST appellate authorities, and to provide taxpayers with an independent forum for justice. They function through a principal bench in New Delhi and 31 state benches across 45 locations, giving it nationwide reach.
Each state bench is required to have two judicial members appointed by the Centre, along with two technical members — one appointed by the Centre and one by the state.
While the Centre has completed appointments for its share of judicial and technical members, none of the appointed members have received their posting orders so far, sources said.
Most states are yet to appoint their technical members. “Only four states, including Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, have so far appointed their technical members, while the remaining states are yet to make any appointments,” a government official told Business Standard.
An email sent to the finance ministry on the matter remained unanswered till the time of going to the press.
With the tribunal still not operational, nearly 600,000 tax appeals remain pending across the GST system, causing long delays for businesses and taxpayers, said sources.
In May 2024, Justice (retd) Sanjaya Kumar Mishra was appointed as the first president of GSTAT. At the 56th meeting of the GST Council in September, it was decided that the tribunal benches would be rolled out in a phased manner from October 2025, with digital filing and virtual hearings.
At the formal launch of GSTAT on September 24, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said the deadline for filing appeals in legacy GST cases has been extended till June 30, 2026, with hearings expected to begin from December under a staggered filing process. Under this approach, cases will be admitted and listed in batches, generally on a first-in-first-out basis.
