Government appoints 33 technical members to GST Appellate Tribunal

The Government has appointed 33 Technical Members to the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT). This is an important step to operationalise the tribunal, which could bring certainty among GST assessees.

According to an order of the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), while two retired bureaucrats – A Venu Prasad (IAS, Punjab Cadre of 1991 batch) and Anil Kumar Gupta (IRS) – will serve as Technical Members (State) on the Principal Bench of GSTAT at New Delhi, the remaining 31 members will be posted in the State benches. All the members will have a tenure of 4 years or till they attain the age of 67 years, whichever is earlier. They will all draw a salary of Rs 2.25 lakh a month. It may be noted that last year, the government appointed Justice (Retd.) Sanjaya Kumar Mishra as the President of the GSTAT.

Commenting on the appointment of 33 technical members, Manoj Mishra, Partner and Tax Controversy Management Leader at Grant Thronton Bharat said over the years, the absence of a functional GSTAT had led to mounting litigation and legal uncertainty for businesses across the board. Now, with the Tribunal’s framework, rules, and appointments beginning to take shape, there’s a sense of cautious optimism. If judicial positions and state-level coordination progress swiftly, we could see the first benches begin operations before the year ends.