Haryana Government has decided to constitute State Bench of Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal in Hisar for speedy settlement of matters related to Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Giving details, Excise and Taxation Minister, Capt Abhimanyu on Thursday said that in this regard, the Chief Minister Manohar Lal has accorded his approval to a proposal.
He said that Haryana is a very big state in terms of economy and revenue. Under GST, so far, there are 4.25 lakh registered taxpayers in the state, who are contributing tax of over Rs 4,600 crore every month.
Earlier in the Value Added Tax (VAT) system, the state had 2.25 lakh active registered dealers and there was a Sales Tax Tribunal for the state which is still working. Thus, the state requires a State bench of Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal, the Minister said.
The State Government would soon send its request to the Central Government for the constitution of State Bench of Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal in Hisar city for the state, he added.
Regarding Area Benches of Tribunal, he said that GST is just a year old system and the workload of Tribunal is likely to go up with the passage of time. The workload of the Tribunal could be better assessed only after passing of some more time, he said.
Capt Abhimanyu also said that Haryana is geographically a small state. Under VAT also, the state has one Bench of a Tribunal located at Chandigarh. In view of all these factors, only a State Bench of Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal could be notified without Area Benches, for the time being, he added.
Notably, the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 provides that the Central Government would constitute an Appellate Tribunal known as Goods and Services Tax Tribunal. The Tribunal would be constituted on the basis of the recommendation of GST Council. The Tribunal would comprise of the National Bench and its Regional Benches and State Bench and its Area Benches.
The Excise and Taxation Minister further said that the National Bench and its Regional Benches would have the jurisdiction to hear appeals against the order passed by the Revisional Authority or the Appellate Authority in matters related to the supply site.
The Appeals against all other orders passed by the Revisional Authority or the Appellate Authority would be made to State Bench or its Area Benches. The State Bench of the Appellate Tribunal would have the jurisdiction for exercising the power of Tribunal within the concerned state.
The Centre Government would constitute the required number of Area Benches in the state, on the recommendation of the Council and on the request of the State Government, he added.
