Summary of Public Notice No. 01/2026 — Functioning of GSTAT Kolkata Bench
The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal, Kolkata Bench has issued Public Notice No. 01/2026 dated 23.03.2026 informing taxpayers, departmental authorities, authorised representatives, Tax Bar Associations, Chambers of Commerce and other stakeholders that the Kolkata Bench of the GST Appellate Tribunal has commenced functioning. The office address notified for the Bench is 2/5, Judges Court Road, Alipore, Kolkata–700027, Old Door Sanchar Bhawan.
The notice further clarifies the territorial jurisdiction of the Kolkata Bench. The Bench will exercise jurisdiction over West Bengal, Sikkim and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Appeals filed under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the corresponding State or Union Territory GST enactments, arising from these jurisdictions, will be heard by the Kolkata Bench.
All appeals, applications and related proceedings pertaining to the aforesaid jurisdictions are required to be filed before the Kolkata Bench in accordance with the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2025, and other applicable laws, rules and instructions. The notice also specifically refers to Chapter III of the GSTAT Procedure Rules, 2025, which governs the procedure for institution of appeals before the Tribunal.
For the convenience of appellants, the notice records that the e-filing advisory, GSTAT Procedure Rules, 2025, and relevant orders are available on the GSTAT portal under the “Notice” section. In case of difficulty in filing appeals or applications, appellants may contact the GSTAT e-filing portal toll-free number 1800-103-4782, or raise an incident through the GSTAT portal.
Commentary considering GST Statute
Commencement of Kolkata Bench marks operationalisation of appellate remedy under Section 112
The commencement of the Kolkata Bench is significant because the right of appeal to the Appellate Tribunal under Section 112 of the CGST Act, 2017 had remained practically ineffective for several years due to non-constitution or non-functioning of the Tribunal. With the Bench becoming functional, taxpayers whose disputes arise from West Bengal, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands now have an identified statutory forum for second appeal against orders passed by the Appellate Authority or Revisional Authority.
Section 112 contemplates an appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against orders passed under Section 107 or Section 108. Therefore, once the Kolkata Bench has commenced functioning, taxpayers within its jurisdiction must assess pending appellate orders and limitation timelines in light of the statutory mechanism. The Tribunal is not merely an administrative forum; it is the specialised appellate body intended by Chapter XVIII of the CGST Act to examine factual, legal and jurisdictional errors arising from departmental adjudication and first appellate proceedings.
Jurisdiction over West Bengal, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The public notice clearly provides that the Kolkata Bench shall exercise jurisdiction over West Bengal, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This territorial allocation is important for deciding the proper forum for institution of appeal. A taxpayer registered in West Bengal, for instance, whose appeal arises from an order passed by the first appellate authority under the West Bengal GST law read with the CGST Act, would file the appeal before the Kolkata Bench. Similarly, a taxpayer in Sikkim or in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands would also approach the same Bench.
The words “arising from the above-mentioned jurisdictions” are important. Jurisdiction would normally be determined with reference to the authority passing the order and the taxable person’s registration or place of dispute, rather than the location of the consultant or authorised representative. Thus, where ABC Tea Exports Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata receives an appellate order confirming demand of ₹48 lakh under Section 107, the appeal against such order would lie before the Kolkata Bench. On the other hand, if the same company has another GSTIN in Assam and the appellate order arises from Assam jurisdiction, the Kolkata Bench would not become the forum merely because the head office is situated in Kolkata.
Filing of appeals and applications under GSTAT Procedure Rules, 2025
The notice states that all appeals, applications and related proceedings shall be filed before the Kolkata Bench in accordance with the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2025. This makes the procedural rules central to the institution of appeals. The public notice specifically refers to Chapter III of the said Rules, which governs the procedure for institution of appeals before the Tribunal.
In practical terms, taxpayers must not treat the commencement of the Bench as a mere announcement of address. It is the starting point for procedural compliance. Appeal papers must be prepared in the prescribed form, accompanied by the impugned order, statement of facts, grounds of appeal, verification, authorisation in favour of the authorised representative, proof of pre-deposit and such other documents as may be required by the portal or the Procedure Rules. Defective or incomplete filing may lead to procedural objections and delay in admission or listing.
For example, E LLP, Siliguri, having received an appellate order on 15.02.2026 confirming tax of ₹30 lakh, interest and penalty, would be required to file its appeal before the Kolkata Bench in the prescribed manner. If the appeal is uploaded without proof of payment of statutory pre-deposit or without proper authorisation in favour of the authorised representative, the Registry may treat it as defective. The taxpayer would then have to remove the defect within the time allowed under the Tribunal procedure.
Pre-deposit and statutory discipline before Tribunal
Although the notice is administrative in character, its practical impact must be read with the statutory condition of pre-deposit under Section 112. An appeal to the Tribunal is maintainable only upon compliance with the statutory pre-deposit requirement. In ordinary tax-demand cases, the appellant is required to deposit the admitted amount and the prescribed percentage of the remaining disputed tax, subject to the statutory ceiling. For penalty-only matters, the amended statutory framework also requires payment of the prescribed percentage of penalty as a condition for filing the appeal.
This assumes particular importance for taxpayers who had earlier paid amounts under DRC-03 pursuant to CBIC instructions issued during the period when the Tribunal was not functional. Such taxpayers should carefully reconcile whether the amount already deposited satisfies the statutory requirement for appeal before GSTAT and whether the portal permits tagging or reference of such payment while filing the appeal. The commencement of the Bench now requires conversion of protective compliance into formal appellate institution.
Relevance for pending recovery proceedings
The functioning of the Kolkata Bench also bears upon recovery proceedings. During the period when the Tribunal was not available, taxpayers were often constrained to approach High Courts or make protective deposits to avoid recovery after disposal of first appeals. Now that the forum is functional, taxpayers falling within the notified territorial jurisdiction should promptly examine whether their matters require filing before GSTAT so that the statutory protection linked with pre-deposit can be availed.
Where a taxpayer has an adverse appellate order and recovery is being pursued by the department, filing of appeal with the required pre-deposit would be material for seeking protection against coercive recovery for the balance disputed demand. However, mere intention to file appeal would not ordinarily suffice. The taxpayer must complete the filing process and preserve acknowledgement, appeal number, proof of pre-deposit and portal confirmation.
Practical significance for authorised representatives and trade bodies
The notice also requests Trade and Industry Associations, Chambers of Commerce, authorised representatives, Tax Bar Associations and legal practitioners to disseminate the contents of the notice. This indicates that the establishment of the Bench is not only an internal administrative event but a stakeholder-facing development. Authorised representatives dealing with matters from West Bengal, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands should immediately review pending appellate orders, limitation positions, pre-deposit status, documentation and portal readiness.
For businesses, this development brings certainty to the appellate path. For practitioners, it requires readiness in drafting grounds before the Tribunal, identifying questions of law and fact, filing interlocutory applications where necessary, curing defects and ensuring that appeals are not dismissed for procedural defaults. The Tribunal stage is often the first full specialist forum where factual appreciation and legal interpretation under GST can be comprehensively argued; therefore, the quality of filing at inception becomes critical.
Statutory effect of commencement of Bench
The notice does not amend the CGST Act, nor does it create a new appellate right. The appellate right already exists under Chapter XVIII of the CGST Act. What the notice does is operational: it identifies the functioning Bench, its location, its territorial jurisdiction and the filing mechanism. Its legal importance lies in making the statutory remedy practically available for the notified jurisdictions.
Accordingly, taxpayers covered by this Bench should not wait for separate individual communication from the department. Once the Bench has commenced functioning and the notice has been issued for public information, the responsibility shifts to the appellant to act within the applicable statutory and procedural timelines.
Source: Public Notice No. 01/2026, dated 23.3.2026