Question 1

GSTAT decisions completely bypass High Courts and are appealed directly to the Supreme Court.

Accepted Answer

Only decisions of the Principal Bench (dealing with 'place of supply' issues) go directly to the Supreme Court. Decisions of State Benches are still appealed to High Courts on substantial questions of law.

Question 2

GSTAT was established under Article 323A of the Constitution.

Accepted Answer

It was established under Article 323B.

Question 3

A taxpayer can appeal to the GSTAT without paying any of the disputed tax amount.

Accepted Answer

A mandatory pre-deposit of 10% of the disputed tax amount is required to file an appeal before the GSTAT (in addition to the 10% paid at the first appeal stage).

Question 4

Consider the following statements regarding the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT):
1. The GSTAT derives its constitutional backing from Article 323A of the Constitution of India.
2. The State Benches of the GSTAT comprise two Judicial Members and two Technical Members to maintain judicial parity.
3. Appeals against the orders of the Principal Bench of GSTAT lie directly before the Supreme Court of India.
How many of the above statements are correct?

Accepted Answer

(b) Only two — Statement 1 is incorrect: GSTAT derives its constitutional backing from Article 323B (Tribunals for other matters, including taxation), not 323A (Administrative tribunals). Statement 2 is correct: Following constitutional challenges, State Benches were restructured to have 2 Judicial and 2 Technical members (one Centre, one State) to protect judicial independence. Statement 3 is correct: The Principal Bench handles critical disputes like 'place of supply', and appeals against its orders go directly to the Supreme Court. Therefore, only two statements are correct.

Question 5

Match List I (GSTAT Features/Committees) with List II (Associated Details):
List I:
A. Article 323B
B. Dushyant Chautala GoM
C. Principal Bench Jurisdiction
D. Pre-deposit requirement for GSTAT

List II:
1. Place of Supply disputes
2. Recommended restructuring of GSTAT composition
3. Constitutional basis for tax tribunals
4. 10% of disputed tax amount

Accepted Answer

(a) A-3, B-2, C-1, D-4 — Article 323B provides the constitutional basis for tax tribunals (A-3). The Dushyant Chautala-led Group of Ministers recommended the legal changes to restructure the tribunal to satisfy federal and judicial concerns (B-2). The Principal/National Bench exclusively deals with 'place of supply' disputes (C-1). Filing an appeal at the GSTAT requires a mandatory pre-deposit of 10% of the disputed tax (D-4).

Question 6

Assertion (A): The operationalization of the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) was delayed for several years despite provisions existing in the original CGST Act, 2017.
Reason (R): The original composition of the GSTAT was struck down by the Madras High Court because the number of technical members exceeded the number of judicial members, violating the principle of judicial independence.

Accepted Answer

(a) Both A and R are correct, and R is the correct explanation of A. — Both statements are true. Section 109 of the CGST Act, 2017 provided for GSTAT, but its establishment was delayed. The primary reason for the delay was constitutional challenges, specifically the Madras High Court ruling which held that a tribunal acting as a judicial body cannot have a majority of technical/revenue members (originally it was set as two technical members and one judicial member), as it compromises judicial independence and the separation of powers. The law was subsequently amended to fix this imbalance.

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