GSTAT Constitutes Benches and Classifies Appeals into Three Categories

Office Order No. 3/GSTAT/PB/2026 dated 14 May 2026 

In a major step towards operationalizing the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), the President of GSTAT has issued Office Order No. 3/GSTAT/PB/2026 dated 14 May 2026 constituting benches across India and prescribing a structured mechanism for allocation of GST appeals.

Under Section 109 of the CGST Act and Rule 110A of the CGST Rules, matters involving tax liability below ₹50 lakh and not involving any question of law may be heard by a Single Bench. However, to ensure consistency and avoid jurisdictional disputes, the President has directed that all pending and future appeals shall initially be listed before a Division Bench. Only after the Division Bench records a finding that no question of law is involved can the matter be considered for transfer to a Single Bench.

The order classifies GST disputes into three broad categories:

• Category I covers core tax disputes such as classification, valuation, time of supply, admissibility of Input Tax Credit, taxability of transactions, registration issues, and demands raised under Sections 73 and 74.

• Category II includes registration-related matters, cancellation and revocation proceedings, composition scheme disputes, assessment orders, recovery proceedings, and refund matters.

• Category III consists of consequential and procedural disputes such as seizure, confiscation, provisional attachment, rectification, penalties, compounding, and other residual matters.

The order further allocates judicial and technical members to benches throughout India, including Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur and other locations, thereby making the GST appellate mechanism fully functional.

For taxpayers and professionals, this order provides much-needed clarity regarding bench jurisdiction, category-wise allocation of appeals, and the functioning of GSTAT across the country. It marks an important milestone in strengthening the GST dispute resolution framework and ensuring timely disposal of appeals.