Industry associations have urged the Ministry of Finance to speed up the disposal of goods and services tax (GST) disputes of ₹5 crore and more. They argue that resolving such cases will give businesses clarity and unlock money blocked as mandatory pre-deposits, sources said.
Under the GST appellate framework, taxpayers are required to make pre-deposits while filing appeals. Industry representatives have told the government that expediting high-value cases will help businesses get clarity on their tax positions.
The demand comes at a time when the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) is operational nation-wide, with multiple benches now functional to hear what industry estimates are 400,000 to 500,000 pending appeals. Industry associations have suggested that the availability of enough tribunal benches presents an opportunity to clear legacy cases efficiently and promptly. Nearly 12,000 appeals have been filed on the GSTAT portal so far.
The associations have also sought relief for smaller taxpayers. They have suggested a fresh GST amnesty scheme to waive interest and penalties in certain cases, particularly where tax dues have already been discharged. Industry representatives argue that such a measure would reduce litigation and ease the compliance burden on small businesses.
Separately, tax professionals have called for extending the June 30 deadline for filing appeals relating to the GSTAT backlog cases. According to the framework, appeals arising from orders communicated before April 1, 2026, are required to be filed by June 30, 2026.
Taxpayers are grappling with the extensive documentation requirements for filing appeals before GSTAT, an tax expert said.
“The documentation requirements are detailed and many taxpayers are still in the process of understanding and collating the necessary records. Given the volume of pending cases and the relatively short time available, the government should consider extending the June 30 deadline,” he said.
Industry representatives say that allowing more time will help taxpayers file accurate appeals, reducing procedural errors and facilitating smoother disposal of cases.
According to experts, there are several cases where taxpayers could not file appeals on time, particularly in the early GST years when notices were often uploaded on the portal without proper intimation.
“Given these genuine challenges and no scope for condonation by appellate forums, the government may consider a one-time amnesty scheme to enable filing of such time-barred appeals, providing much-needed relief and a fair opportunity to taxpayers,” he said.
Another tax expert said that to optimise revenue amid geopolitical uncertainty, the government should prioritise high-value tribunal disputes, fast-tracking cases with significant recovery potential. Concurrently, introducing an amnesty scheme will support micro, small and medium enterprises and unclog the judicial mechanism.
“This scheme should specifically focus on settling non-material, low-stakes litigations, offering a clean slate to smaller businesses. Crucially, for these measures to yield long-term results, they must be coupled with the immediate operationalisation of GST Appellate Tribunal state benches across the country,” he said.
