The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) is a statutory appellate institution constituted by the Central Government of India under Section 410 of the Companies Act, 2013. It came into effect on June 1, 2016, as part of a major corporate adjudicatory reform. The NCLAT was established to replace the fragmented appellate landscape, which previously involved the Company Law Board, High Courts, and other forums, thereby consolidating jurisdiction and expediting corporate dispute resolution.
The NCLAT primarily functions as the appellate authority for orders passed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Its jurisdiction has expanded significantly beyond company law to include appeals against orders passed by the NCLT under Section 61 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), effective from December 1, 2016. Furthermore, the NCLAT hears appeals against directions, decisions, or orders from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), a jurisdiction added by an amendment to Section 410 through the Finance Act, 2017.
The mechanism of the NCLAT is governed by provisions like Section 424 of the Companies Act, which states that the Tribunal is not bound by the procedure laid down in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but is guided by the principles of natural justice and can regulate its own procedure. Section 430 explicitly bars the jurisdiction of a civil court over any matter the NCLAT is authorized to determine. Appeals from the NCLAT's orders lie directly to the Supreme Court of India on questions of law under Section 423. A recent change, introduced by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act, 2026, mandates that the NCLAT must dispose of appeals under the IBC within three months to expedite the resolution process.