The terms Board, Council, Committee, Commission & Tribunal are all legal terminologies and are formed as per requirements. Sometimes they co-exist in the same organization. They are not mutually exclusive. In the case of Government bodies, the relevant act that regulates that specific Government body empowers the formation of such groups. In such cases, the act specifically mentions the type of group that will be formed according to the requirements of that body.
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Board
Board is a group of people who have all the powers to decide and control the working of a body. They are usually at the apex of the organization. In other cases, every artificial legal body has a board at its apex where owners and managers are different. For e.g. Companies, LLP, etc. The members of the board are appointed by the real owners of the organization. There may or may not be a fixed term for the members.
Example: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), State Electricity Board, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), The Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) etc.
Council
Council is a body, generally large in size than other types of groups mentioned here. The members of the council are elected by the members. They act as representatives of the people. Thus, elections are conducted for forming the council. Councils are formed when there is a large body of people who have come together for a purpose. For e.g. Universities, Colleges, Trade Associations, etc. The members of council are elected for a fixed term.
Example: All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), Municipal Councils, Project Export Promotion Council of India (PEPC), etc.
Committee
Committees are subgroups of the original body. They are formed for a specific purpose. The most common example of forming committees would be organizing events. When we organize an event, the group formed specifically for the event is called committee. These committees are also further subdivided into various other sub-committee. The members of committees are generally selected on merit or some other criteria. Many times committee is formed by volunteers. The members of the committee are appointed for the period until they serve their purpose.
Example: Parliamentary Committee, Kelkar Committee (2002), Swaminathan Committee (2004), etc.
Commission
A Commission is quite similar to Committees except for the fact that Commissions are formed by Government bodies or Statutory bodies. For e.g. when any Government Ministry wants to research on a specific issue, it forms a commission. The members of the commission are either selected or nominated by the interested groups. Commissions can be permanent or temporary depending upon the purpose of such commission. The members of the commission are appointed for a fixed term.
Example: Election Commission (EC), University Grants Commission (UGC), etc.
Tribunal
Tribunal is very different from all the above types of groups. The members of the tribunal are current or retired judges. Sometimes, people having relevant experience and knowledge in the field are also appointed. The Tribunals are adjudicating authority. Together they decide over various matters involving disputes. Usually, it is one rank below the High Courts. The members of Tribunal are appointed for a fixed term.
Example: Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), National Companies Law Tribunal (NCLT), Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), etc.
Source: Quora