Preparing for the ITAT and the GST Tribunal

1. Before you accept the brief

• Read the order under appeal twice: once for the story, once for each addition or disallowance and the reason given for it.
• Check limitation first. Note the date the order was received, not just the date it bears, and work out the last date for filing.
• Confirm you may appear. Authorised representatives before the ITAT are governed by section 288 of the Income-tax Act; before the GST Tribunal, by section 116 of the CGST Act. Keep your authorisation or vakalatnama ready.
• Collect everything filed before the Assessing Officer and the first appellate authority: replies, notices, evidence, and the order sheets if available.

2. Drafting the appeal

• Grounds should be short, numbered and specific: one ground for each addition, plus a general ground reserving the right to add or amend.
• State the amount and section for each ground, so the Bench can see the dispute at a glance.
• If you are late, file a separate application for condonation of delay with an affidavit explaining each day of delay. Vague reasons rarely succeed.
• Pay the correct appeal fee and keep the challan with the appeal set. Check the current fee rules before filing.

For matters under the Income-tax Act, 2025, which replaces the 1961 Act from 1 April 2026, check the corresponding section numbers before you cite them.

3. The paper book

• The paper book carries the documents the Bench will read. The Income Tax (Appellate Tribunal) Rules, 1963 set out how it is to be filed, and many benches add their own practice directions.
• Include only documents that were before the lower authorities, with an index, page numbers and a certificate to that effect.
• New evidence belongs in a separate application for additional evidence, explaining why it could not be produced earlier.
• File the paper book in good time before the hearing and serve a copy on the Departmental Representative.

4. Case law

• Lead with the Supreme Court and your jurisdictional High Court. Decisions of the same bench of the Tribunal come next.
• Check every judgment you rely on for later reversal or distinction. A quick search of recent orders on this register helps.
• Prepare a compilation with an index, and mark the paragraphs you will read. Three apt authorities persuade more than thirty.
• Be ready for the decisions that go against you, and know how your facts differ.

5. Written submissions

• Open with a one-page synopsis: the issue, the amount, and the relief you seek.
• Add a list of dates and a short chart of figures where numbers matter.
• Refer to paper book pages for every fact you state.

6. At the hearing

• Check the cause list the evening before and again in the morning. Arrive early and inform the bench clerk of your appearance.
• Dress formally. Advocates follow the dress rules of the Bar Council of India.
• Begin with the issue and the figure in dispute, then the facts, then the law. Do not read your submissions aloud; take the Bench to the pages that matter.
• Answer the Bench's questions directly, even when the answer is unwelcome. Concede weak points that do not matter and hold firm on the ones that do.
• Seek an adjournment only for a genuine reason, and tell the other side in advance.

7. After the order

• Read the operative part first, then the reasoning on each ground. Explain the result to your client in writing.
• A mistake apparent from the record can be corrected by rectification; under the 1961 Act this is section 254(2), with a time limit of six months from the end of the month in which the order was passed.
• A further appeal lies to the High Court only on a substantial question of law. Note the limitation date the day you receive the order.

8. Notes for the GST Tribunal

• Appeals are filed online on the GSTAT e-filing portal under section 112 of the CGST Act. Register on the portal well before your first filing.
• Check the pre-deposit required before filing; the appeal is not admitted without it.
• The GST Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2025 govern filing, paper books and hearings. Read them once end to end.
• Keep the show-cause notice, the reply, the adjudication order and the first appeal order in one indexed set, as most disputes turn on what was raised at each stage.

9. Building a tribunal practice

• Read the day's orders of your bench. Patterns in how members decide recurring issues are the best preparation there is.
• Keep a case diary with every hearing date, adjournment and direction.
• Join your ICAI branch study circle or the local tax bar association, and sit in on hearings when you can.
• Follow your professional body's rules on advertising and solicitation. ICAI, ICSI and the Bar Council of India each publish their own.

These notes are general guidance for practitioners and are not legal advice. Rules, forms and time limits change; check the current position before acting.