Justice Sanjaya Mishra sworn in as President of GST Appellate Tribunal

Justice (retired) Sanjaya Kumar Mishra was sworn in as the first President of the GST Appellate Tribunal on 6 May 2024. The Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman administered the oath of office in New Delhi. Justice (retired) Sanjaya Kumar Mishra has been appointed for a term of four years.

With Justice Mishra's appointment, the GST Appellate Tribunal is expected to become operational on 1 July 2024.

Qualification and Appointment of President of GST Appellate Tribunal 

The former Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court, Justice (retired)Sanjaya Kumar Mishra’s name, was approved by the Appointment Committee of the Union Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister. The selection of Justice (retired)Sanjaya Kumar Mishra was recommended by a Search cum Selection Committee.

Qualification

According to section 110 of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act 2017, a person who has been the Judge of the Supreme Court or has been the Chief Justice of a High Court can be appointed as the President of the GST Appellate Tribunal. 

What is the GST Appellate Tribunal?

The GST Appellate Tribunal is an Appellate Authority constituted under the Central Goods and Service Tax Act 2017. 

The Appellate Tribunal will hear an appeal against the orders of the first appellate authority regarding the provisions of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, State Goods and Service Tax Acts and the Union Territory Goods and Service Tax Acts.

Benches of the GST Appellate Tribunals 

The principal benches of the GST Appellate Tribunals will be in New Delhi. There will be 31 State Benches in various States/Union Territory of India. The Appellate Tribunal consists of judicial members and technical members.

What is GST?

The Goods and Service Tax (GST) was implemented in India on 1 July 2017. It was introduced by the 101 Constitutional Amendment Act 2016.

It is a single unified indirect tax that has replaced almost all the indirect taxes levied by the central and state governments.  It consists of Central GST, State GST and Integrated GST. 

Under the GST, various goods and services have been categorised into different tax slabs of 0 per cent, 5 percent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent, and 28 per cent.

GST is a destination-based tax where the tax is received by the state where the goods are consumed, not where the goods are being manufactured. 

In GST, tax is levied at each stage of the supply chain, from the manufacturer to the consumer. It is applied to the value added at each stage

Dual Taxation Structure   

GST follows a dual tax structure comprising Central GST(CGST) and state GST(SGST).The CGST is levied by the government of India, while the state government levies the SGST.

For Union territories which have legislative assemblies, there is Union Territory GST (UTGST). At present, only Puducherry and Delhi Union Territory has Legislative Assembly 

CGST, SGTS, IGST 

Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST )

The central government levies it on the intra-state supply of goods and services. Intra-state means that the supplier and buyer of the goods are from the same state. For example, if a trader in Rajasthan sells goods within Rajasthan, then it will be considered an intra-state transaction. The amount collected is deposited in the central government account.

State Goods and Service Tax (SGST) 

It is levied by the state government on the intra-state supply of goods and services. SGST is levied along with the CGST. The portion of the CGST is deposited in the central government, while the state government keeps the amount collected through the SGST.

Integrated Goods and Service Tax (IGST) 

The Integrated Goods and Service Tax is levied on the interstate supply of goods and services and on imports and exports. The tax is collected by the central government and distributed between the centre and the states.

Inter state supply of goods means that the supplier of the goods is from a different state and the goods are being consumed in different states.

Dispute regarding GST 

If there is a dispute regarding taxation under the GST, an appeal can be made to the appellate authority. This authority will be known as the first appellate authority. 

If a party is not satisfied with the decision of the first appellate authority, then it can appeal to the GST Appellate Tribunal.