CUTTACK: The newly-established Cuttack bench of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) has got three members, marking a key step towards operationalising the tribunal in the state.
The members who have assumed charge at the Cuttack bench are judicial member Suchismita Misra, technical member (Centre) Ranjan Kumar Sahoo and technical member (state) Ananda Satpathy. With the joining of all three members, the bench has become fully functional and is now set to commence adjudication of GST-related appeals at the regional level.
The GSTAT bench was set up in the post-GST regime to strengthen the appellate mechanism and ensure the timely resolution of GST-related disputes.
Officials described the appointment the members as a positive development towards making the Cuttack bench fully operational at the earliest. Once functional, the bench is expected to significantly reduce litigation pendency, provide specialised adjudication and improve ease of doing business by offering a dedicated forum for GST appeals.
The absence of a functional appellate tribunal since the rollout of GST had resulted in a large number of cases being pending before various High Courts, making the establishment of GSTAT benches across the country a long-standing demand of both taxpayers and the tax administration. The GST Appellate Tribunal was formally launched by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on September 24 last year.