Eight years of GST, still no tribunal for taxpayers

Politics Politics of India

Posted by AI on 2025-08-16 08:57:54 | Last Updated by AI on 2026-06-24 20:12:03

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For eight years, Indian taxpayers have been waiting for a tribunal to ease their grievances under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) India's biggest tax reform since independence. However, a combination of legal setbacks, administrative inertia and coordination failures between the centre and state governments has led to a delay in setting up the tribunal, leaving taxpayers with a tough and slow recourse for dispute resolution.

The GST Council, comprising centre and state ministers, decided in 2017 to set up a GST tribunal to hear appeals and rectification applications related to GST disputes. It was envisioned as a streamlined approach to resolving taxpayer grievances, bypassing the cumbersome writ petition route under the Taxpayers' Charter Act. However, the tribunal's establishment has been stuck in procedural rigmarole ever since.

Earlier this year, a bench of the Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging the 2017 decision, saying the GST Council was well within its rights to set up the tribunal. The Supreme Court's decision was a big win for the government, and a shot in the arm for hastening the tribunal's establishment. But, alas, eight months on, the tribunal is still in the works.

Tax experts have noted that the delay has caused frustration among taxpayers and tax professionals alike who have been forced to endure a slow and burdensome dispute resolution process. The tribunal was envisioned as a taxpayer-friendly forum to resolve disputes, and its absence has been sorely felt.

There is still no word on when the tribunal will be established, even as the government continues to champion the GST as a landmark reform. With the upcoming Assembly polls in several states, including some of the most important ones politically, the ball seems to have been set rolling on the GST Council's priority list. As things stand, setting up the tribunal appears to be lower down on the priority list than other pressing issues, such as ironing out the new returns system and tackling tax evasion.

Sources close to the matter say that the centre is trying to find a way to establish the tribunal through a executive order, bypassing the need for constitutional amendment. However, it is unclear whether this route will be successful, as it may face legal challenges.

The wait for a taxpayer tribunal continues, as bureaucratic hurdles and coordination challenges continue to drag on.

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