Context The Supreme Court has warned that the government has no option but to constitute the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Appellate Tribunal.
The GST tribunal has not been constituted even four years after the central GST law was passed in 2016.
Section 109 of the GST Act mandates the constitution of the Tribunal
What is GST Appellate Tribunal?
The GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) is the second appeal forum under GST for any dissatisfactory order passed by the First Appellate Authorities.
The National Appellate Tribunal is also the first common forum to resolve disputes between the centre and the states.
Being a common forum, it is the duty of the GSTAT to ensure uniformity in the redressal of disputes arising under GST.
It holds the same powers as the court and is deemed Civil Court for trying a case.
Constitution of the GST Appellate Tribunal
National Bench: The National Appellate Tribunal is situated in New Delhi, constitutes a National President (Head) along with 2 Technical Members (1 from Centre and State each)
Regional Benches: On the recommendations of the GST Council, the government can constitute (by notification) Regional Benches, as required.
As of now, there are 3 Regional Benches (situated in Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad) in India.
State Bench and Area Bench
What is the Goods and Services Tax (GST)?
The GST is a value-added tax levied on most goods and services sold for domestic consumption.
It was launched on 1st July 2017.
It subsumed almost all domestic indirect taxes under one head.
The GST is paid by consumers, but it is remitted to the government by the businesses selling the goods and services.
GST is levied at four rates – 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.
The GST to be levied by the Centre is called Central GST (CGST) and that to be levied by the States is called State GST (SGST).
Import of goods or services would be treated as inter-state supplies and would be subject to Integrated Goods & Services Tax (IGST) in addition to the applicable customs duties.