The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) has issued a significant office order laying down a detailed framework for constitution of benches and allocation of GST disputes across the country, while also directing that all pending and future matters before the Principal Bench and State Benches shall initially be listed before a Division Bench.
The order, issued by GSTAT President Dr. Sanjaya Kumar Mishra on May 14, 2026, seeks to address practical difficulties in bench formation and create a structured mechanism for handling different categories of GST disputes.
Under Section 109(8) of the CGST Act, 2017 and Rule 110A of the CGST Rules, matters involving tax liability or issues below ₹50 lakh and not involving any question of law can be placed before a Single Bench after scrutiny by the President or Vice-President. The order also notes that where a Single Bench subsequently finds that a matter involves a question of law, it can be referred back to a Division Bench after obtaining necessary approval.
However, the new order changes the operational approach by directing that every matter must first be listed before a Division Bench. Only after the Division Bench records a finding that the case does not involve any question of law can it be routed for further directions relating to Single Bench hearing.
The GSTAT has simultaneously introduced a three-category system for classifying disputes.
Category I matters include core tax controversies such as classification disputes, applicability of notifications, determination of time and value of supply, input tax credit disputes, tax liability issues, registration requirements, and proceedings under Sections 73 and 74 relating to tax short-payment and excess ITC.
Category II includes matters relating to registration, cancellation and revocation proceedings, composition scheme disputes, recovery proceedings, assessments, refund matters, and provisional assessments.
Category III has been reserved for consequential and procedural matters including seizure and confiscation disputes, rectification orders, provisional attachment proceedings, penalties, compounding of offences, and residual matters not specifically covered elsewhere.
The order further provides that Category III matters will ordinarily be heard by the bench handling the principal dispute from which such consequential proceedings arise, although certain exceptions have been carved out for Karnataka, Guwahati and Kolkata State Benches.
Apart from laying down the classification structure, the office order also allocates judicial and technical members to various benches across India including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and several circuit benches. It additionally permits members posted in neighbouring states to conduct hearings through virtual, hybrid or circuit modes where appropriate.
The development is expected to have substantial implications for GST litigation administration because it creates a uniform process for bench assignment and may bring greater consistency in handling appeals across different jurisdictions. The requirement that matters first undergo Division Bench scrutiny could also influence how questions of law are identified and separated from fact-based disputes at the appellate level.
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