Eight years of GST, still no tribunal for taxpayers
The delay stems from a combination of legal setbacks, administrative inertia and Centre–state coordination failures
Eight years after the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), India is yet to operationalise its appellate tribunal—a right guaranteed to every taxpayer under the law. Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address on 15 August 2025, announced a “Diwali gift” in the form of a major restructuring of GST, the absence of a functional tribunal highlights a glaring gap in governance.
The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) was meant to be in place by December 2024. However, not a single appointment has been finalised so far, leaving lakhs of aggrieved taxpayers with no effective forum for appeal.
Instead, disputes continue to clog the High Courts and the Supreme Court, undermining both the efficiency of the GST regime and the principle of timely justice.
The delay stems from a combination of legal setbacks, administrative inertia and Centre–state coordination failures. The Madras High Court had struck down the original provisions for constituting GSTAT in 2019, forcing fresh legislative changes.
Subsequent tribunal reforms were also challenged in court, culminating in the Tribunal Reforms Act of 2021 and amendments to the CGST Act. Despite these changes, bureaucratic bottlenecks in setting up search committees, appointing members and allocating infrastructure have slowed progress to a crawl.
States have compounded the delay by dragging their feet on nominating technical members and providing facilities for state benches. While the Centre has notified rules and initiated some appointments, most benches remain non-functional as of August 2025.
Tax experts stress that the tribunal is not a procedural luxury but the backbone of a fair GST system. Without it, taxpayers face prolonged litigation, inconsistent judgments and eroding trust in the tax framework. Moreover, the continued diversion of tax appeals to higher courts has only worsened judicial backlogs.
Against this backdrop, calls are growing that GST reforms—whether rationalising rates, tightening compliance, or introducing new measures—must not leapfrog the establishment of the appellate tribunal.
“A functioning GSTAT is critical to restore taxpayer confidence and streamline further reforms. Without it, every new change risks adding confusion rather than clarity,” said a senior tax advisor.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has also urged a time-bound rollout, warning that the credibility of GST reforms will remain compromised until the tribunal begins hearings.
As the government pitches GST restructuring as a festive “gift” to the people, the continued absence of GSTAT stands as a stark reminder of unfulfilled promises. For taxpayers, the real reform would be timely justice through an accessible, specialised tribunal—before any further tinkering with the tax system.