The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal has started addressing its mounting caseload, with claims exceeding 75,000 and recent judicial clarifications boosting confidence among taxpayers and advisors amidst ongoing technical challenges.
The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal has begun to clear a small but growing backlog, with its portal showing 83 cases disposed of out of 75,155 filed so far. The tribunal has registered 5,819 matters, while 3,492 were lodged in August alone, pushing total filings past the 75,000 mark. In New Delhi, the Principal Bench has received 7,306 cases, of which 134 have been registered and seven decided, leaving 127 pending.
The tribunal’s e-filing system went live on 24 September 2025, and the government later extended the appeal deadline to 31 July 2026 after technical problems emerged amid a surge in submissions. Official and legal sources said daily filings at one point peaked at about 5,500, prompting the introduction of a token mechanism for taxpayers who were close to the deadline and still facing filing difficulties.
Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, the GSTAT president, said on Friday that filings had fallen short of expectations, with around 74,758 appeals then on record against a projected 2 lakh to 2.5 lakh. He said the lower figure may reflect business closures or cases involving fake input tax credit claims. Mishra also pointed out that nearly 3.5 lakh cases had earlier gone before the first appellate layer, suggesting a much larger pool of disputes could still come before the tribunal.
Tax professionals say the tribunal is starting to do more than simply absorb appeals. Vivek Jalan, a partner at Tax Connect Advisory Services, said the benches are now operating at full strength and that recent rulings are already giving taxpayers and advisers more clarity. He cited the Principal Bench’s decision in Sterling Williamson and the Kolkata Bench’s ruling in Power Tech Global, both of which, he said, support the view that allegations of fraud, suppression or wilful misstatement under Section 74 of the CGST Act need evidence rather than assertion. Mishra has also urged lawyers, tax advisers and industry to make greater use of the filing system, with the token facility allowing an appellant to secure compliance by generating a token by 31 July and then completing the appeal within 60 days.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
