Tax consultant organisations in Madhya Pradesh have called on the Central government to remove the requirement of submitting English translations of documents when filing appeals before the GST tribunal, arguing that the rule is impractical in a Hindi-speaking state and adds avoidable costs for taxpayers.
The demand comes from tax professionals based in Indore, who say the current provision places an unnecessary compliance burden on appellants, particularly small businesses and individual taxpayers.
Memorandum Sent to Finance Minister
The Madhya Pradesh Tax Law Bar Association along with the Commercial Tax Practitioners Association has submitted a memorandum to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman requesting immediate relief from the translation requirement.
According to the associations, most orders issued by the State GST department are already in Hindi, making mandatory English translations at the appellate stage redundant and costly.
Rule 23 Requirement Called Impractical
Under Rule 23 governing procedures of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal, appeals filed in a language other than English must be accompanied by translated copies of all supporting documents.
Tax professionals argue that this requirement does not reflect ground realities in Hindi-speaking states, where official communication and records are primarily maintained in Hindi.
Language Policy and Legal Interpretation
The associations pointed out that Madhya Pradesh is classified as a Hindi-priority state under language rules, and therefore requiring translation of every document into English creates procedural hurdles.
They also cited constitutional provisions, stating that the English language requirement mainly applies to proceedings before higher constitutional courts, not statutory tribunals like the GST Appellate Tribunal.
Demand for Hindi Acceptance to Improve Access to Justice
Tax bodies have urged the Centre to allow tribunal benches in Hindi-speaking states to accept appeals, orders, and related documents in Hindi without mandatory translations.
They said such a reform would reduce litigation costs, simplify compliance, and ensure fair access to justice for taxpayers.
Broader Impact
Experts believe that if the demand is accepted, it could make GST dispute resolution more inclusive and efficient, while also setting a precedent for other states where regional languages dominate administrative processes.
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