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Contents PAGE Table showing sections of Tribunals Reforms Act, 2026 (TRA 2026)
I-7
& Corresponding Sections of Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 (TRA 2021) Table showing sections of Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 (TRA 2021)
I-11
& Corresponding Sections of Tribunals Reforms Act, 2026 (TRA 2026) Comparative Study of Changes Made by TRA 2026 vis-à-vis TRA
I-15
2021
TRIBUNALS REFORMS ACT, 2026 CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY 1.
Short title and commencement
1
2.
Definitions
3 CHAPTER II NATIONAL TRIBUNALS COMMISSION
3.
National Tribunals Commission
4
4.
Powers and functions of Commission
5
5.
Appointment, term of office, etc., of Chairperson of Commission and Members of Commission
6
6.
Resignation and removal of Chairperson of Commission and Members of Commission
7
7.
Vacancy, etc., not to invalidate actions
7
8.
Secretariat of Commission
8 I-5
CONTENTS
I-6 PAGE
9.
Meetings of Commission
9
10.
Grants by Central Government
9
11.
Accounts and audit
9
12.
Furnishing of annual report to Central Government
10
CHAPTER III MANNER OF SELECTION AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE OF CHAIRPERSON AND MEMBERS OF TRIBUNAL 13.
Search-cum-Selection Committees
10
14.
Appointment of Chairperson and Members of Tribunals
12
15.
Empanelment of experts
13
16.
Removal of Chairperson and Members of Tribunals
14
17.
Term of office of Chairperson and Member of Tribunal
14
18.
Qualifications, manner of selection, etc., of Chairpersons and Members of Tribunals under certain enactments to be governed by this Act
15
CHAPTER IV MISCELLANEOUS 19.
Power of Commission to make regulations
16
20.
Power of Central Government to make rules
16
21.
Protection of action taken in good faith
17
22.
Act to have overriding effect
17
23.
Power to remove difficulties
18
24.
Repeal and savings
18
FIRST SCHEDULE
20
SECOND SCHEDULE
21
SUBJECT INDEX
25
TRIBUNALS REFORMS ACT, 2026* [NO. 17 OF 2026]
An Act to improve the efficiency, ensure independence, transparency, and uniformity in the qualifications, appointment, terms and conditions of service of Chairpersons and Members of various Tribunals, the administration and functioning of the Tribunals, to establish a National Tribunals Commission and to make consequential amendments in related enactments and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. BE it enacted by Parliament in the Seventy-seventh Year of the Republic of India as follows:— CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY Short title and commencement. 1. (1) This Act may be called the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2026. (2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette†, appoint; and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision. COMMENTS SECTION NOTES
1.1 Date of coming into force of this Act In exercise of its powers under Section 1(2), the Central Government has, vide Notification No. S.O. 4713(E), dated 25-8-2026, appointed 25-8-2026 as the date on which all the provisions of this Act shall come into force. With effect from that date, the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021 stands repealed. 1.2 Applicability of this Act to Tribunals & Appellate Tribunals The changes and reforms brought in by this Act apply only to the 16 Tribunals listed in the First Schedule alongside their corresponding enactments. * Dated 13-8-2026. † Notification No. S.O. 4713(E), Dated 25-8-2026.—In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2026 (17 of 2026), the Central Government hereby appoints the 25th day of August, 2026, as the date on which all the provisions of the said Act shall come into force.
1
S. 1
2
TRIBUNALS REFORMS ACT, 2026
The 16 Tribunals to which this Act applies (in alphabetical order) and the corresponding enactments are as per the Table below: Sl. No.
Tribunal/Appellate Tribunal/ Authority
Enactments
(1)
(2)
(3)
1
Appellate Tribunal
2
[Sl. No. 2 of the First Schedule]
The Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976
Appellate Tribunal for Electricity
The Electricity Act, 2003
[Sl. No. 10 of the First Schedule] 3
Armed Forces Tribunal
The Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007
[Sl. No. 11 of the First Schedule] 4
Central Administrative Tribunal
The Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985
5
Customs, Excise and Service Tax The Customs Act, 1962 Appellate Tribunal
[Sl. No. 2 of the First Schedule]
[Sl. No. 1 of the First Schedule] 6
Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal The Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, 1993 [Sl. No. 2 of the First Schedule]
7
Debts Recovery Tribunal [Sl. No. 7 of the First Schedule]
The Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, 1993
8
Income-tax Appellate Tribunal
The Income-tax Act, 2025
9
Industrial Tribunal
[Sl. No. 16 of the First Schedule] The Industrial Relations Code, 2020
[Sl. No. 15 of the First Schedule] 10
National Company Law Appellate The Companies Act, 2013 Tribunal
11
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
[Sl. No. 13 of the First Schedule] The Consumer Protection Act, 2019
[Sl. No. 14 of the First Schedule] 12
National Green Tribunal
13
Railway Claims Tribunal
14
Securities Appellate Tribunal
The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010
[Sl. No. 12 of the First Schedule] The Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987
[Sl. No. 5 of the First Schedule]
15
[Sl. No. 6 of the First Schedule]
The Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992
State Administrative Tribunals
The Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985
[Sl. No.4 of the First Schedule]
3
S. 2
TRIBUNALS REFORMS ACT, 2026
Sl. No.
Tribunal/Appellate Tribunal/ Authority
Enactments
(1)
(2)
(3)
16
Telecom Disputes Settlement and The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Appellate Tribunal Act, 1997 [Sl. No. 9 of the First Schedule]
The Central Government is empowered by Section 18(2) of this Act to extend the provisions of this Act to other Tribunals /Appellate Tribunals /Authorities by amending the First Schedule by Notification in the Official Gazette. It may be noted that Section 22 provides that the provisions of this Act shall have overriding effect over anything inconsistent contained in the provisions of the corresponding enactment in Column (3) of the above Table.
Definitions. 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— (a) “Chairperson” includes Chairperson, Chairman, President and Presiding Officer of a Tribunal, but does not include the Chairperson of the Commission; (b) “Chairperson of the Commission” means the Chairperson of the National Tribunals Commission; (c) “Commission” means the National Tribunals Commission established under section 3; (d) “Member” includes Vice-Chairman, Vice-Chairperson, Vice-President, Accountant Member, Administrative Member, Judicial Member, Expert Member, Law Member and Technical Member of a Tribunal; (e) “Member of the Commission” means a Judicial Member or a Technical Member of the National Tribunals Commission; (f) “National Tribunals Data Grid” means a portal containing the repository of all case related information pertaining to Tribunals specified in the First Schedule; (g) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (h) “regulations” means the regulations made by the Commission under section 19; (i) “Schedule” means a Schedule appended to this Act; (j) “Search-cum-Selection Committee” means a Search-cum-Selection Committee constituted under section 13; (k) “Secretariat” means the Secretariat of the Commission referred to in section 8; and
TRIBUNALS REFORMS ACT 2026 – BARE ACT WITH SECTION NOTES AUTHOR : PUBLISHER : DATE OF PUBLICATION : EDITION : ISBN NO : NO. OF PAGES : BINDING TYPE :
Taxmann's Editorial Board Taxmann September 2026 2026 Edition 9788167011893 44 Paperback
Rs. 95 DESCRIPTION Tribunals Reforms Act 2026 [Bare Act with Section Notes] by Taxmann is a working Edition, for the transition year, of the law on the appointment, tenure and service conditions of Chairpersons and Members of India's principal Tribunals. The Act—enforced from 25th August 2026—replaces the Tribunals Reforms Act 2021 and applies to the sixteen Tribunals in its First Schedule, including CESTAT, ITAT, NCLAT, SAT, NGT, NCDRC, and the Administrative Tribunals. The statutory text is freely available; this book supplies the apparatus that makes it usable—Section Notes identifying the corresponding 2021 provision, a front-placed Comparative Study, and two-way tables between the 2026 and 2021 Acts. The problem it solves is practical. An adviser needs five things at once: the new provision, its 2021 predecessor or confirmation that there is none, proof of commencement, the amendment to the Tribunal's parent enactment, and confirmation that the Tribunal is covered. These sit in five places—the Act, the repealed 2021 Act, a Gazette notification, the Second Schedule and the First Schedule. This volume puts all five on one desk. This book is intended for the following audience: • Advocates and Counsel Practising Before the Tribunals • Chairpersons, Presiding Officers and Members of Tribunals • Candidates for Appointment and Reappointment to Tribunal Posts • Ministries and Departments Administering Tribunals • Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries and Cost Accountants • Litigation, Tax and Regulatory Teams • Law Officers, Standing Counsel and Judges • Law Students, Academicians and Policy Researchers • Law Libraries, Tribunal Libraries and Institutional Subscribers The Present Publication is the 2026 Edition, covering the authenticated text of the Tribunals Reforms Act [Act No. 17 of 2026] as in force, with the following noteworthy features: • [Section Notes – The Core Editorial Feature] Notes beneath seventeen of the twenty-four sections state whether each provision descends from the 2021 Act or is new, so old and new law sit side by side • [Correspondence Down to Sub-section Level] Mixed sections are split: in Section 16, sub-section (1) is traced to Section 4 of the 2021 Act and sub-sections (2) and (3) are marked new • [Definitions Mapped, Gaps Marked] Four of the twelve definitions carry a 2021 reference; eight, including Commission, Search-cum-Selection Committee and National Tribunals Data Grid, are flagged as having no legacy precedent • [Enforcement Settled on the Opening Page] The date of the Act and the commencement notification, S.O. 4713(E), are footnoted to Section 1, making the enforcement position verifiable from the book • [Two-Way Statutory Cross-Reference Tables] A master table from the 2026 Act to the 2021 Act and a reverse table, with a dash wherever no counterpart exists • [Front-Placed Comparative Study] The changes under five heads—the National Tribunals Commission, Search-cum-Selection Committees, minimum age bar, term of office, and salary and allowances—each giving the earlier and the adopted position • [The Judicial Anchor] Madras Bar Association v. Union of India is cited in the Comparative Study and the notes to Section 3; three of the five heads are tied to the direction each answers • [The Sixteen Tribunals Tabulated] Each Tribunal listed alphabetically beneath Section 1 against its First Schedule serial number and governing enactment • [Committee Rosters Written Out in Full] Both Search-cum-Selection Committees set out seat by seat under Section 13, with the casting vote and non-voting seats marked • [Chapter III Annotated End to End] All six sections on selection, appointment, removal and tenure carry notes • [Consequential Amendments in Full] The fourteen Second Schedule entries, from Section 129 of the Customs Act 1962 to Section 361 of the Income-tax Act 2025, printed as they will read • [Research Tools] A Subject Index mapping offices, concepts and defined terms to section numbers, with both Schedules reproduced • [Authoritative Bare Act Presentation] Authenticated statutory text, with a boxed COMMENTS device separating the words of Parliament from the publisher's notes
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