The goods and services tax tribunals (GSTAT) could take another six months to get operational, with many states yet to appoint members or allocate buildings for the offices. The tribunals were expected to start functioning from December-end 2024.

“Appointments to the state bench and supporting staff for the members are pending…This may take another six months,” a senior official told ET on condition of anonymity.

The GSTAT will have around 44 benches, each with four members, three from the Centre and one from the state government.

“The process of application and interviews of members is completed but the final shortlisting and verification is in process,” the official said. Besides, the real estate for the tribunals is still pending and only 50% of the locations have been identified, according to the official.

The GSTAT operations will be fully electronic and paperless.

While the software for GSTAT is ready, the IT infrastructure procurement is pending, which is likely to be completed by March-end, the official said.

In May 2023, the Centre had appointed Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, former chief justice of Jharkhand High Court, as the president of GSTAT for a period of four years.

Source: The Economic Times