GOODS AND SERVICES TAX
APPELLATE TRIBUNAL - GOVERNANCE
News: Sanjaya Kumar Mishra to head
GST Appellate Tribunal
What's in the news?
●
The Centre has designated retired Justice Sanjaya
Kumar Mishra as the President of the Goods & Services Tax Appellate
Tribunal (GSTAT).
Goods and Services Tax
Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT):
●
The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal is a
specialized authority established to resolve disputes related to GST at the
appellate level.
Establishment and
Jurisdiction:
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It is constituted under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) to hear appeals
under this Act and the respective State/UT GST Acts.
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The tribunal comprises one Principal Bench situated
in Delhi and 31 State benches
located across various States.
Composition:
●
The tribunal is headed by a President and includes a Judicial Member and two Technical Members,
one representing the state and the other the Centre.
●
State benches may consist of two Judicial Members and one
Technical Member each from the Centre and the state.
Eligibility Criteria:
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The President must be either a retired Supreme Court Judge or a former Chief Justice of a High Court.
●
Judicial Members must have served as High Court
Judges or held positions as Additional District Judge or District Judge for at
least 10 years.
●
Technical Members representing the Centre should be Indian Revenue
Service members of Group A or members of All India Service with three years of
experience in administering GST.
●
Technical Members from the state must be state
government officers or All India Service officers ranked above Additional
Commissioner of Value Added Tax, with 25 years of Group A Services or
equivalent experience.
Age Limit and Tenure:
●
The President and Judicial and Technical Members
hold office for a maximum of four years or until they reach the age of 70 years (President) or 67 years (Judicial
and Technical Members).
Functions and Powers:
● GSTAT functions akin to a Civil Court and possesses the authority to pass orders, hear cases, levy penalties, and revoke or cancel registrations related to GST disputes.