Kolkata: The Bengal government has appointed members to its upcoming GST tribunal at Alipore in South Kolkata, which is expected to become functional in October.
“The portal through which people can file their appeals will be opened on September 30. There will be two benches in the GST tribunal in Kolkata; one bench will be for West Bengal, while the other will be for Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands,” said Shrawan Kumar, Chief Commissioner, Kolkata Zone, CGST & CX, while addressing the GST Conclave 2025 organised by Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce (MCCI ) on Tuesday. According to sources in the Finance department, the space for the infrastructure of the GST tribunal at Judges Court Road has been taken on rent by the state. There will be 32 benches across the country, including the Principal Bench in Delhi. According to Kumar, GST 2.0 addresses three key areas that include rate rationalisation, which involves simplifying tax rates to reduce complexity, streamlining tax compliance and reducing litigation and providing relief on essential items.
“These reforms aim to achieve rate structurization, implying rate simplification and dispute reduction. Notably, the tax rate for over 90 percent of products is expected to decrease from 12 to 5 percent , benefiting both industries and consumers,” said Kumar.Dr. Uma Sankar S, Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, CGST & CX, in his address said that GST has simplified the taxation system, promoting economic unity and reducing complexity. As per data, when GST was first introduced in 2017, the weighted average of all rates was 14.4 per cent, which presently has come down to 11.45 per cent. “Now, with the reforms coming in place from September 22, the GST rate has been reduced from 11.45 per cent to 9.5 per cent, representing a 20 per cent reduction on a weighted average basis,” he added .
As per estimates of the state Finance department, the state may lose a revenue of Rs 5000 crore by the end of this ongoing fiscal year in comparison to 2024-25. However, with the public expected to buy more goods leading to an increased demand with the reforms in place, the revenue will rise from the next financial year 2026-27.
Amit Saraogi, President, MCCI said that Bengal has set an ambitious SGST collection target of Rs 49,771 crore for 2025-26, aiming for continued economic growth.
“The State reported a robust 12 percent year-on-year growth in gross GST collections for July,” he added.