RAS question
The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) was constituted in:
Correct answer: (A) 2023.
The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal was constituted in 2023. Its State Benches were notified in September 2023, and the GSTAT Rules were notified in October 2023.
Explanation
The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) was constituted in 2023 after earlier legal concerns over the Tribunal's composition. The Goods and Services Tax Council agenda states that sections 109, 110 and 114 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act were substituted through the Finance Act, 2023 and brought into force on 1 August 2023. The Government then constituted State Benches of GSTAT in various states through Statutory Order No. 4073(E) dated 14 September 2023. The GSTAT Rules, 2023 were notified on 25 October 2023. The Principal Bench of GSTAT at New Delhi was notified on 1 January 2024. Therefore, the constitution year asked in the MCQ is 2023.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) 2025 is too late because the State Benches of GSTAT and the GSTAT Rules were notified in 2023.
- (C) 2019 is too early because GSTAT implementation followed the Finance Act, 2023 changes and the 2023 notifications.
- (D) 2017 is too early because the CGST Act, 2017 provided the framework, while the Tribunal's constitution steps took place later in 2023.
Concept
Under Indian Economy, this topic concerns GST's institutional structure, particularly the appellate mechanism created to resolve disputes. GST bodies, Council decisions and tax-administration reforms are recurring economy-and-governance themes in RAS.