The Special Bench of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) has decided to first adjudicate the common legal issue of whether the First Appellate Authority or the GST Appellate Tribunal has the jurisdiction to condone delays in filing first appeals beyond the statutory limitation prescribed under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017.
The Special Bench of the GSTAT Principal Bench comprising Justice (Retd.) Dr. Sanjaya Kumar Mishra (President), Justice Mayank Kumar Jain (Judicial Member), and A. Venu Prasad (Technical Member) proposed to decide the common question of law as a threshold issue. Once the legal position is settled, any remaining factual or legal issues in individual appeals will be adjudicated by the respective State Benches.
The Tribunal noted that although only 24 matters were listed before the Special Bench on the date of hearing, a much larger issue had emerged nationwide. It recorded that during the previous hearing on 1 July 2026, around 504 appeals across the country had already been identified as involving the identical legal question. During the hearing, the Court Officer informed the Bench that the number had increased substantially, with approximately 3,000 appeals now involving the same issue before different State Benches.
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The common question concerns whether the statutory authorities have the power to condone delays beyond the maximum period prescribed under Section 107 of the CGST Act while entertaining first appeals.
Recognising the far-reaching implications of the issue, the Special Bench directed the Registry to immediately collect details of all appeals across the country involving the identical question of law relating to the jurisdiction of the First Appellate Authority or the GSTAT to condone delays beyond the limitation cap prescribed under Section 107 of the CGST Act.
The Tribunal observed that the question is common to a large number of cases and requires authoritative determination before individual disputes are examined on their respective merits.
During the hearing, counsel appearing in several appeals submitted that the matters had inadvertently been filed before the Principal Bench but also involved the same legal issue. The Tribunal clarified that the jurisdictional question relating to condonation of delay would be decided first by the Special Bench. Only after that issue is settled would any surviving grounds in the respective appeals be considered by the concerned State Benches in accordance with law.
Some parties requested that their matters be transferred back to the respective State Benches for adjudication. The Special Bench declined the request, observing that every case listed before it involved the identical question of law regarding the power to condone delays beyond the statutory limitation under Section 107(4) of the CGST Act.
The Tribunal held that this common legal issue falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Principal Bench under Notification No. S.O. 4219(E) dated 17 September 2025. Consequently, the matters cannot be transferred to State Benches until the Principal Bench decides the threshold legal question.
Given that nearly 3,000 appeals are now understood to involve the same jurisdictional question, the forthcoming ruling is expected to have a substantial impact on GST litigation nationwide and determine the maintainability of numerous appeals filed after expiry of the statutory limitation period.
The GSTAT has directed that the 24 pending matters, along with additional appeals involving the identical legal issue, be listed before the Special Bench on 30 July 2026 for further proceedings.
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