GST Council Secretariat Asks Six States To Set Up Appellate Authorities

The GST Council Secretariat has asked six states, including Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, and the Union Territory of Puducherry, to expeditiously set up appellate authorities to enable aggrieved entities to file appeals against orders of the Authority for Advance Rulings.

Even after one year of implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, six states and Puducherry are yet to set up the Appellate Authority for Advance Rulings.

In the absence of an AAAR, it is not possible for aggrieved entities to contest the verdict passed by the AAR. The AARs in different states have so far passed more than 200 orders.

“The Secretariat of the GST Council has shot off letters to Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry to fast track setting up of AAARs in their respective states, stating that in absence of such an authority businesses are facing difficulties,” an official told PTI.

The GST Council Secretariat had in May written a similar letter to all states, following which a majority of them had set up AAAR and appointed its members.

As per the State GST law, the appellate authority will have two members -- the Chief Commissioner of Central Tax as designated by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs and the Commissioner of State Tax.

The appellate authority has been mandated to pass order within 90 days of the filing of an appeal.

Under the GST law, an aggrieved party can file an appeal against the order of the AAR within a period of 30 days, which may be further extended by a month.

As per the law, all states are required to set up at least one AAR for seeking advance ruling over GST levy and one appellate authority to hear appeals against the AAR order.