Ranchi: The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), Ranchi, has on Thursday become the second bench in the country after Delhi to start hearing cases at the tribunal level.Earlier, petitions related to GST cases were filed with the high court (HC), which is already burdened with pending cases. At present, around 2,000 petitions are pending with the HC, sources said.Jharkhand Commercial Tax Bar Association (JCTBA) president Anand Pasari said, “While GST tribunals have been set up across the country, the Ranchi bench is second to start hearing. The step would enable speedy disposal of cases as the tribunal is the final fact-finding authority.”The first hearing was conducted before the divisional bench comprising judicial officer and vice-president Tushar Kanti Sethapaty and technical member BB Mohapatra. A total of 70 cases have been filed with the tribunal so far. The union govt has fixed June 30 as the date for filing appeals against the orders communicated to a person by the Jharkhand high court till April 1.
