CHAPTER – II

APPELLATE TRIBUNAL AND APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS

3. Constitution of Appellate Tribunal

 (1) The Government shall appoint an Appellate Tribunal consisting of a Chairman and two other members to exercise the functions conferred on the Appellate Tribunal by or under the Act. The Chairman shall be a judicial officer not below the rank of a District Judge Grade-I and of the other two members, one shall be an officer of the State Government not below the rank of a Joint Commissioner of Commercial Taxes and the other shall be an officer of the Indian Revenue Service not below the rank of an Additional Commissioner.

 (2) Any vacancy in the membership of the Appellate Tribunal shall be filled up by the State Government.

 (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the Government may at any time, by order, constitute an additional Bench of the Tribunal, consisting of a Chairman who shall be a

District Judge Grade – I and two members of whom one shall be an Officer of the State Government not below the rank of a Joint Commissioner of Commercial Taxes and the other shall be an officer of the Indian Revenue Service not below the rank of an Additional Commissioner to function at such place and for such period as may be specified therein.

 (4) Where any orders passed by the Benches specified in sub-section (1) and (3) are in conflict with each other on same issue the senior Chairman of the two benches, on application or suo-moto shall constitute and preside over a full Bench of not less than five members in the manner specified in the regulations made under sub-section (5) and the decision of such bench shall be final.

 (5) The Appellate Tribunal shall, with the previous sanction of the Government make regulations consistent with the provisions of the Act and rules made there under, for regulating its procedure and the disposal of its business. Such regulations shall be published in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette.

 3-A The State Government, may, appoint a Commissioner of Commercial Taxes and as many Additional Commissioners of Commercial Taxes, Joint Commissioners of Commercial Taxes, Appellate Deputy Commissioners of Commercial Taxes, Deputy Commissioners of Commercial Taxes, Assistant Commissioners of Commercial Taxes, Commercial Tax Officers and Deputy Commercial Tax Officers as they think fit, for the purpose of performing the functions respectively conferred on them by or under the Act. Such officers shall perform the said functions within such area or areas or the whole of the State of Andhra Pradesh as the Government or any authority or officer empowered by them in this behalf may assign to them.