The much-awaited Goods and Services Tax (GST) Appellate Tribunals, intended to resolve taxpayer disputes under the six-and-a-half years old indirect tax regime, may begin operations around July or August, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra told The Hindu in an interview on Saturday. Introduced on July 1, 2017, the GST framework included provisions to constitute Appellate Tribunals as the second appellate authority for hearing appeals against the orders passed by the Appellate Authority under the Central and State GST laws. The Central GST law was amended in July to enable the creation of appellate tribunals, and the Finance Ministry notified the setting up of 31 tribunals across 28 States and eight Union Territories in mid-September. At the time, officials believed that the first set of tribunals would become operational by December 2023 or January 2024. Taxpayers can withdraw their GST-related cases filed in High Courts and the Supreme Court and lodge them with the upcoming GST appellate tribunals so as to speed up their outcomes, the minister had advised.

Source: The Hindu February 05, 2024 04:57 UTC