The tribunals, 28 of which have been named so far, are still being set up.

The Central GST (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to expand the pool of candidates for appointment as judicial members to the tribunals to include advocates with 10 years of experience and substantial experience in litigation matters relating to indirect taxes in various tribunals, high courts or the Supreme Court.

The amendments seek to align the Central Goods and Services Act with the provisions of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021, with respect to the appointment of the president and members of the tribunals. The amendments also propose a minimum age of 50 years for president and members of the tribunals. The president and members will have their tenure capped at 70 years and 67 years, respectively.

Non-constitution of GSTAT is denying taxpayers a second appellate remedy as a result of which, taxpayers have been seeking relief directly from the high court, thereby burdening them, the bill said, explaining the rationale for the amendments.

Sitharaman also tabled the Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill, 2023, in the Lok Sabha, which replaces a law by the same name enacted in 1931. This bill allows the government to give immediate effect to customs and excise duty changes proposed in the finance bills from the next day onwards, without having to wait for the bills' passage.

"The Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill 2023 incorporates the existing provisions of the same 1931 Bill," the finance ministry said in a social media post, after Sitharaman introduced the bill in the lower house of parliament. This provision is invoked every year to give immediate effect to customs and excise duty rate changes in the budget to avert speculative activity.

A provision for indirect tax changes in any legislation such as the Finance Bill that invokes the provisional collection of taxes law shall have the force of law immediately on the expiry of the day on which the bill containing it is introduced, the newly-introduced bill says.