The Tribunals Reforms Act, 2026 has received Presidential assent, introducing a common framework for the appointment, tenure, removal and service conditions of Chairpersons and Members of several major tribunals, including CESTAT, ITAT, NCLAT, SAT and DRTs. The Act also provides for the establishment of a National Tribunals Commission to oversee tribunal appointments, performance, complaints and case-related data management.
The Act, numbered 17 of 2026, received Presidential assent on August 13, 2026 and was published in the Gazette of India on the same day. Its stated objective is to improve the efficiency, independence, transparency and uniformity in the functioning and administration of tribunals. It also seeks to standardise the qualifications, appointments and service conditions of tribunal office-holders.
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Act Will Come Into Force Through Government Notification
Although the legislation has received Presidential assent, it does not automatically come into operation on the date of assent. Section 1 provides that the Act will come into force on a date notified by the Central Government in the Official Gazette. Different provisions may also be brought into force on different dates.
This means that the practical implementation of the new tribunal framework will depend upon the commencement notifications and the rules and regulations that are subsequently made under the Act.
National Tribunals Commission: The Central Feature
One of the most significant changes introduced by the legislation is the creation of the National Tribunals Commission.
The Commission will be headquartered in New Delhi and will consist of five members—a Chairperson, two Judicial Members and two Technical Members. The Chairperson must have been a Supreme Court Judge or a Chief Justice of a High Court. A Judicial Member must have been a Chief Justice or Judge of a High Court.
For appointment as a Technical Member, the person must have ability, integrity and standing, along with at least 25 years of specialised knowledge and experience in fields such as public administration, finance, law, accountancy, banking, management or technology.
The Commission is therefore designed to combine judicial and technical expertise in the institutional administration of tribunals.
What Will the National Tribunals Commission Do?
The Commission will have several important responsibilities.
First, it will conduct the selection process for filling vacancies of Chairpersons and Members of tribunals covered by the Act through Search-cum-Selection Committees.
Second, it will review the performance of tribunals and facilitate preparation of an annual report for submission to the Central Government.
Third, it will oversee inquiries into complaints against Chairpersons and Members.
Fourth, it will develop and maintain the National Tribunals Data Grid, which is defined as a portal containing case-related information concerning the tribunals covered by the First Schedule.
The creation of the Data Grid is particularly significant from an administrative perspective because the legislation expressly provides for a central repository of tribunal case-related information.
Appointment and Tenure of Commission Members
The Chairperson and Members of the National Tribunals Commission will be appointed by the Central Government. However, before appointing the Chairperson and Judicial Members, the Central Government is required to consult the Chief Justice of India.
The Chairperson and Members will hold office for five years or until attaining the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier.
The Act also provides safeguards and procedures concerning resignation and removal. Removal can be ordered on specified grounds, including insolvency, conviction for an offence involving moral turpitude, incapacity, conflict of interest or abuse of position prejudicial to public interest. Where removal is proposed on grounds relating to conflict of interest or abuse of position, the concerned office-holder must be informed of the charges and given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in an inquiry. Such inquiry is to be headed by a Supreme Court Judge nominated by the Chief Justice of India.
New Search-cum-Selection System for Tribunal Appointments
The Act establishes a structured Search-cum-Selection Committee mechanism for appointing Chairpersons and Members of the tribunals listed in the First Schedule.
For selection of a Tribunal Chairperson, the committee will include the Chairperson of the National Tribunals Commission, a Technical Member of the Commission, a retired Chief Justice of a High Court, a Central Government Secretary and two experts who assessed the suitability of candidates. The Secretary of the Commission will act as Member Secretary.
For selection of Tribunal Members, the committee will be headed by a Judicial Member of the Commission and will also include a Technical Member, a retired High Court Judge, a Central Government Secretary and two expert members, along with the Member Secretary. For State Administrative Tribunals, the concerned State Chief Secretary will be included instead of the Central Government Secretary.
The Chairperson of the Search-cum-Selection Committee will have a casting vote, while the Member Secretary and expert members will not have voting rights. Recommendations will be forwarded to the Central Government through the Commission’s Secretariat.
Government Given Three Months to Make Appointments
The legislation prescribes timelines for the appointment process.
Once the Search-cum-Selection Committee makes its recommendation, the Secretariat must communicate it to the Central Government within three days.
The Central Government is then required to process the recommendation and make the appointment within three monthsfrom the date it receives the recommendation.
The committee will also recommend one additional name for each vacancy to be kept on a waiting list.
Qualifications and Service Conditions to Follow a Common Framework
Section 14 provides that, notwithstanding provisions contained in the individual enactments governing the respective tribunals, the qualifications, selection procedure, appointment, salaries, allowances, resignation, removal and other service conditions of Chairpersons and Members will be governed by the rules made under the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2026.
While framing these rules, the Central Government is required to take into consideration the experience and specialisation relevant to the field of the concerned tribunal.
The provision effectively creates a common statutory framework for service conditions across the covered tribunals rather than leaving these matters entirely to individual parent statutes.
Five-Year Tenure for Tribunal Chairpersons and Members
The Act fixes a uniform tenure for the Chairpersons and Members of covered tribunals.
A Chairperson will hold office for five years or until attaining 70 years of age, whichever is earlier.
A Member will hold office for five years or until attaining 67 years of age, whichever is earlier.
Both Chairpersons and Members will remain eligible for consideration for reappointment in accordance with the statutory selection process.
Removal of Tribunal Members: Inquiry Mechanism
The Act also lays down specific grounds for removing Tribunal Chairpersons and Members.
These include insolvency, conviction for an offence involving moral turpitude, physical or mental incapacity, financial or other interests likely to prejudice their functions, abuse of position, incompetence or inefficiency, and undertaking a paid assignment during the term of office.
Where a complaint alleges grounds such as conflict of interest, abuse of position, incompetence, inefficiency or undertaking a paid assignment, the concerned Ministry or Department must first conduct a preliminary inquiry.
If the complaint is supported by material facts and documents, it is referred to the Chairperson of the National Tribunals Commission for inquiry. The Commission will then submit its recommendation to the Central Government.
The Act specifically provides that a Chairperson or Member cannot be removed on these grounds without a reference to the Commission and an inquiry under the prescribed procedure.
Which Tribunals Are Covered?
The First Schedule covers 16 categories of tribunals and authorities.
These include:
- Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT)
- Appellate Tribunal under the SAFEMA framework
- Central Administrative Tribunal
- State Administrative Tribunals
- Railway Claims Tribunal
- Securities Appellate Tribunal
- Debts Recovery Tribunal
- Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal
- Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal
- Appellate Tribunal for Electricity
- Armed Forces Tribunal
- National Green Tribunal
- National Company Law Appellate Tribunal
- National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
- Industrial Tribunals constituted by the Central Government
- Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT)
The inclusion of CESTAT and ITAT, among other major specialised adjudicatory bodies, makes the legislation particularly relevant to tax, customs, excise, service tax and income-tax litigation.
Specific Changes to ITAT Framework
The Act makes a specific consequential amendment to the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Under the amended provision, the qualifications, selection, appointment, salaries and allowances, resignation, removal, other service conditions and eligibility for reappointment of the President, Vice-President and other Members of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal appointed after commencement of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2026 will be governed by the new Act.
Thus, future appointments to the ITAT will be brought within the common framework created by the Tribunals Reforms Act.
CESTAT and Other Tribunals Also Brought Under the Common Framework
Similar amendments have been made to the Customs Act, 1962, the SAFEMA legislation, the Administrative Tribunals Act, the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, the SEBI Act, the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, the TRAI Act and the Electricity Act.
The amendments generally provide that qualifications, selection, appointment, remuneration, resignation, removal, service conditions and reappointment of tribunal office-holders will be governed by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2026.
The same approach extends to the Armed Forces Tribunal, National Green Tribunal, NCLAT, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and Industrial Tribunals.
Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 Repealed
The new legislation expressly repeals the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021.
However, the repeal is accompanied by detailed savings provisions to protect actions already taken under the earlier legal framework. Actions taken under the relevant enactments are to remain valid and effective as though they had been taken under the corresponding provisions as amended by the 2026 Act.
The Act also contains transitional provisions for existing Chairpersons and Members.
For certain appointments made before October 1, 2021, existing salary, allowances and service conditions continue to be governed by the earlier enactments or rules. For specified appointments made under the 2021 Act between April 4, 2021 and the commencement of the new legislation, the concerned office-holder can continue for five years from the date of appointment or until the applicable age limit, whichever is earlier, and can be considered for reappointment.
Existing Selection Processes Protected
The legislation also addresses appointments and selection processes that were already underway when the new Commission is established.
Search-cum-Selection Committees constituted under the 2021 framework before the establishment of the National Tribunals Commission can continue and complete their selection process under the earlier law. However, the subsequent appointment and service conditions of persons selected through such processes will be governed by the 2026 Act.
This transitional arrangement is intended to prevent ongoing appointment processes from being disrupted merely because the new statutory framework has come into effect.
National Tribunals Data Grid
Another important administrative feature is the proposed National Tribunals Data Grid.
The Act defines it as a portal containing the repository of case-related information pertaining to the tribunals listed in the First Schedule. Maintaining such a centralised database has been expressly assigned to the National Tribunals Commission.
The legislation, however, does not in the text itself provide the operational details of the Data Grid. Those details are expected to be governed through the framework created under the Act.
Rules and Regulations Will Determine Several Practical Details
The Act gives the Central Government power to make rules for implementing its provisions.
These rules may deal with matters including salaries and allowances of Commission Members, inquiry procedures, administrative and financial powers, staffing of the Secretariat, qualifications and selection of Tribunal Members, the assessment procedure for candidates and the manner in which removal-related inquiries are conducted.
The National Tribunals Commission can also frame regulations, in consultation with the Central Government, covering matters such as the conduct of its meetings, advertisement and processing of vacancies, scrutiny of applications, assessment weightage and empanelment of experts.
Both rules and regulations are required to be laid before Parliament, allowing the Houses to modify or disapprove them in accordance with the procedure prescribed in the Act.
Annual Reporting and CAG Audit
The Commission will be subject to financial and reporting oversight.
It must maintain proper accounts and prepare an annual statement of accounts. These accounts will be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG).
The certified accounts and audit report are required to be forwarded annually to the Central Government, which must place them before both Houses of Parliament.
The Secretariat must also prepare an annual report setting out the activities of the Commission during the preceding year, with the report ultimately being laid before Parliament.
What the New Law Means in Simple Terms
In simple terms, the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2026 seeks to bring the administration of several important tribunals under one common institutional framework.
Instead of having separate approaches under different parent statutes for appointments and service conditions, the Act creates a National Tribunals Commission and common Search-cum-Selection mechanisms.
The major changes can be summarised as follows:
| Key Change | What the Act Provides |
| National Tribunals Commission | Five-member body with judicial and technical members |
| Tribunal appointments | Through Search-cum-Selection Committees |
| Appointment timeline | Central Government to appoint within three months of recommendation |
| Chairperson tenure | Five years or age 70, whichever is earlier |
| Member tenure | Five years or age 67, whichever is earlier |
| Reappointment | Permitted subject to the statutory selection process |
| Removal | Specified grounds with inquiry mechanism for several grounds |
| Data management | National Tribunals Data Grid |
| Performance review | Commission to review tribunal performance |
| Financial oversight | CAG audit of Commission accounts |
| Existing appointments | Transitional and savings provisions provided |
| Earlier legislation | Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 repealed |
| ITAT | Future appointments brought under the new framework |
| CESTAT | Appointment and service conditions brought under the new Act |
Conclusion
The Tribunals Reforms Act, 2026 represents a major restructuring of the legal and administrative framework governing India’s tribunals. Its most important institutional innovation is the proposed National Tribunals Commission, which will play a central role in appointments, performance review, complaints and tribunal-related data management.
For tax and commercial litigation, the inclusion of bodies such as CESTAT, ITAT, NCLAT, SAT and DRTs makes the legislation particularly significant. The new law also attempts to provide continuity by protecting existing appointments and ongoing selection processes while moving future appointments into the new framework.
The legislation has received Presidential assent, but its actual operational impact will depend substantially on the commencement notifications, rules and regulations that follow. The Act itself expressly leaves several important procedural and service-related matters to those subordinate legislative instruments.
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