KOLKATA: The state government has recoverable dues of about Rs 8,000 crore to date, which it hopes to realise through the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), expected to begin functioning by March at the latest. “The infrastructure for our GSTAT at Alipore is ready, and we are hopeful of receiving our members by January 21. While the technical members are yet to be finalised, the selection committee has already shortlisted the candidates. We are therefore optimistic that the entire tribunal will become operational by March,” said Uma Sankar S, Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Directorate of Commercial Taxes, West Bengal, while addressing a seminar on ‘GSTAT: Challenging the Challenges’ organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday. He added that coordination between the state and central authorities is being maintained.
Madhav Chandra Mishra, Commissioner of CGST and CX (south), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs under the Union Ministry of Finance, said that around 3,500–4,000 CGST cases in the Kolkata zone are expected to come before the GSTAT. There are two benches of the GST Appellate Tribunal in Kolkata—one catering to West Bengal and the other serving Sikkim and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The first president of GSTAT, Dr Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, stated that nearly 5.82 lakh cases were filed before the Appellate at the first stage and suggested that the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes formulate a litigation policy within the framework of the national policy.