Tribunals are established by the Parliament and State Legislature for the settlement of dispute, complaints or offences with respect to the matters such as assessment and collection of taxes; foreign exchange, imports and exports; industrial and labour disputes; land reforms; land ceiling; production, procurement, supply and distribution of foodstuffs (including edible oilseeds and oils) etc. (Article 323B clause 2 of the Constitution Of India 1949).

Appellate Tribunal for Electricity has been established by Ministry of Power, Govt. of India w.e.f. (World Economic Forum) on 7th April 2004. The Appellate Tribunal shall consist of a Chairperson and three other Members. Every Bench constituted by the Chairperson shall consist of at least one Judicial Member and one Technical Member.

Appellate Tribunal for Electricity is conferred with original jurisdiction to hear appeals or original petitions against the orders of the adjudicating officer or the Central Regulatory Commission or State Regulatory Commission or Joint Commission constituted under the Electricity Act, 2003. The act covers major issues involving generation, distribution, transmission and trading electricity.

Every appeal to the tribunal shall be filed within a period of forty-five days from the date on which a copy of the order made by the adjudicating officer or the Appropriate Commission received by the aggrieved person. If any person, who is not satisfied by the decision or order of the Appellate Tribunal, may, file an appeal to the Supreme Court within sixty days from the date of communication of the decision or order of the Appellate Tribunal, to him.

 The Tribunal consists of 21 Members including President,the administrative head of the tribunal and two Vice Presidents. The work of the Tribunal has been distributed among various Benches, comprising of Special Benches at Delhi consist of not less than two members, at least one being a Judicial Member and one a Technical Member. Regional Benches (one each located at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai) consist of two Members - one a Judicial Member and one a Technical Member. Special Benches deal with matters relating, among other things, to disputes about the rate of duty of custom or of excise (referred to as classification disputes) or to the value, of goods for purposes of assessment of duty of customs or of excise (referred to as valuation disputes). Regional Benches deal with matters other than those falling within the jurisdiction of the Special Benches. There is also a provision for Single Member Benches, which are competent to dispose of cases within the specified monetary limits falling within the jurisdiction of Regional Benches.

The Government of India has constituted twenty-nine Debt Recovery Tribunal across the country. Some cities have more than one Debt Recovery Tribunal located therein. The setting up of a Debt Recovery Tribunal is dependant upon the number of cases. There are also  some States that do not have a Debt Recovery Tribunal. The Banks & Financial Institutions and other parties in these States have to go to Debt Recovery Tribunal located in other states having jurisdiction over these areas.

Each Debts Recovery is presided over by a Presiding Officer who is generally a judge of the rank of District and Sessions Judge. Presiding Officer of one Tribunal has the power to discharge also the functions of the Presiding Officer of another Tribunal. He is the sole judicial authority to hear and pass any judicial order. Each Debt Recovery Tribunal has two Recovery Officers. The Presiding Officer allocates the work amongst the Recovery Officers. Though a Recovery Officer need not be a judicial Officer, but the orders passed by a Recovery Officer are judicial in nature, and are appealable before the Presiding Officer of the Tribunal.

Chairperson of an Appellate Tribunal shall exercise general power of superintendence and control over the Tribunals under his jurisdiction including the power of appraising the work and recording the annual confidential reports of Presiding Officers. The Chairperson of an Appellate Tribunal having jurisdiction over the Tribunals may, on the application of any of the parties or on his own motion after notice to the parties and after hearing them, transfer any case from one Tribunal for disposal to any other Tribunal.

 The main object of setting up of the IPAB is for the speedy disposal of appeals and the application of rectification pending before various high courts. So at present all the appeals against any order or decision of the registrar of trademarks and all cases pertaining to rectification of register pending before any High Court shall be transferred to the IPAB (Section 100 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999). Appeals related to Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) are also heard by the IPAB. The IPAB also has appellate jurisdiction to hear and adjudicate upon appeals from most of the decisions, orders or directions made by the Patent Controller. Every appeal to the IPAB should be filed within 3 months from the date of the decision, order or direction, as the case may be, or within such further time as the IPAB may permit.

Railway Claims Tribunal has different Benches in different parts of the country. A Bench shall consist of a Chairman, four Vice-Chairmen, one Judicial Member and one Technical Member. The Chairman exercises the Jurisdiction, powers and authority of the Claims Tribunal. He may on the application of any of the parties and after notice to the parties, and after hearing such of them as he may desire to be heard, or on his own motion without such notice transfer any case pending before one Bench to any other Bench for disposal. In the absence of the Chairman due to illness or any other cause, such one of the Vice-Chairman shall discharge the functions of the Chairman as the Central Government may, by notification, authorize in this behalf, until the date on which the Chairman resumes his duties.

The Claims Tribunal shall have all the powers of a civil court. An appeal from every order of the Claims Tribunal shall lie to the High Court, which is having jurisdiction over the place where the Bench is located. Every appeal shall be preferred within a period of ninety days from the date of the order of the Tribunal.

The Tribunal at present functioning as the appellate Tribunal for all direct taxes which consists of Excess Profits Tax, Business Profits Tax, Wealth etc. The orders of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner under all the Tax Acts such as Gift Tax Act, Expenditure Tax Act, Super Profits Tax Act etc were made appealable to the Tribunal. Orders passed by the Appellate Controller of Estate Duty are also appealable to the Tribunal. Orders prejudicial to assessees passed by the Commissioner in exercise of his Revisional Jurisdiction also come up in appeal to the Tribunal.

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal is a Tribunal exercising the judicial powers of the State. The headquarters of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal is located at Mumbai. There are 63 Benches functioning at 27 different places in the country. Bench exercising and discharging the powers of a Tribunal consists of the President, Senior Vice-President, Vice-President or any other Member sitting singly under the provisions of sub-section (3) of the Act. The President of the Tribunal exercises administrative control over all the Benches of the Tribunal. Appellate Tribunal is divided into nine zones (Income Tax Department). Vice-President is the head of each zone. A Bench shall hear and determine the appeals and applications made under the Income-tax Act, 1961 (section 43); as the President may by general or special order direct. If there are two or more Benches of the Tribunal working at any headquarters, the President or in the absence of the president, the Senior Vice-President/Vice-President of the concerned zone or in the absence of Senior Vice-President/Vice-President the senior most member of the station present at the headquarters transfer an appeal or an application from any one of such Benches to any other.