Section 103 - Procedure of Appellate Tribunal

Bench composition in appellate tribunal permits single-member disposal for lower-value disputes and majority decision-making for divided benches.

The Appellate Tribunal's procedure provides that Benches, constituted by the National or State Presidents, ordinarily consist of one Judicial Member and two Technical Members (CGST and SGST), while the President or an authorized member may sit singly to dispose of cases where the tax, input tax credit, or fine, fee or penalty involved does not exceed ten lakh rupees. If Bench members differ, the majority view governs; if equally divided, the points are referred to the President who may hear or reassign them. The Tribunal may regulate its own procedure and has specified civil court powers for discovery, attendance, document production and issuing commissions, with proceedings treated as judicial for certain penal and criminal procedure provisions.