GST Circular No 256/02/2026

The GST Circular No 256/02/2026 is related to the Procedure for filing a departmental appeal before GSTAT against an appellate authority’s order where the original order was passed by a Common Adjudicating Authority (CAA) in a DGGI case.This circular deals only with appeals filed by the GST Department. It does not prescribe the procedure for an appeal filed by the taxpayer.

Notification No. 02/2022-Central Tax dated 11 March 2022 inserted paragraph 3A and Table V in Notification No. 02/2017-Central Tax dated 19 June 2017.It was subsequently amended by Notification No. 27/2024-Central Tax dated 25 November 2024.Through these notifications, specified Additional/Joint Commissioners were appointed as Common Adjudicating Authorities with all-India jurisdiction to decide show-cause notices issued by DGGI officers.Simply stated, a DGGI investigation may involve taxpayers situated in different States. One designated CAA can pass the Order-in-Original for all such noticees.

CBIC had already issued:

• Circular No. 169/01/2022-GST dated 12 March 2022; and
• Circular No. 239/33/2024-GST dated 4 December 2024.

These circulars explained how DGGI show-cause notices would be assigned to a CAA for adjudication and passing the Order-in-Original.

Circular No. 250/07/2025-GST dated 24 June 2025 provided guidelines regarding:

• review of orders passed by a CAA;
• the revisional authority; and
• departmental appeals before the First Appellate Authority against orders passed by a CAA.

The present circular goes one stage further and deals with appeals before GSTAT after the First Appellate Authority passes its order.

Departmental officers sought clarification on three questions:

• Who will review an Order-in-Appeal arising from an OIO passed by a CAA?
• Which Commissionerate will file the departmental appeal before GSTAT?
• Before which GSTAT Bench should the appeal be filed:
  • the Bench having jurisdiction over the taxpayer/noticee; or
  • the Bench having jurisdiction over the CAA’s Commissionerate?

CBIC examined the matter in consultation with the Union Ministry of Law and Justice and prescribed the following uniform procedure.

Communication of the Order-in-Appeal

When the First Appellate Authority passes an Order-in-Appeal under Section 107 in a case where the OIO was passed by a CAA, the Appellate Authority must:

1. upload the Order-in-Appeal on the GST common portal; and
2. send a copy to the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner having jurisdiction over the CAA:
   • by email; and
   • through a physical copy.

Thus, portal uploading alone is not sufficient for this departmental procedure.

Initial examination by the CAA Commissionerate

The Principal Commissioner/Commissioner having jurisdiction over the CAA must examine the Order-in-Appeal.

For this examination, the Commissioner may obtain comments and inputs from DGGI, if required.

Thereafter, the Commissioner must send:

• comments on the Order-in-Appeal; and
• recommendations regarding further action,

to the jurisdictional CGST Principal Commissioner/Commissioner of every taxpayer or noticee covered by the original CAA order.

Who is the Reviewing Authority?

The jurisdictional CGST Principal Commissioner/Commissioner of each particular taxpayer or noticee will be the Reviewing Authority under Section 112(3).

Therefore, the Commissioner having jurisdiction over the taxpayer—not merely the Commissioner having jurisdiction over the CAA—will decide whether the Department should file an appeal before GSTAT in respect of that taxpayer.

The Reviewing Authority must examine:

• the legality of the Order-in-Appeal;
• the propriety or correctness of the Order-in-Appeal; and
• the comments and recommendations received from the Commissionerate having jurisdiction over the CAA.

If the Reviewing Authority decides that an appeal should be filed, the authority may appoint and direct any subordinate officer to:

• file the departmental appeal before GSTAT; and
• pursue the appeal before GSTAT.

The review must specify the points arising from the appellate order that are to be challenged.

The Commissioner having jurisdiction over the CAA will follow the same process if that Commissioner is also the jurisdictional Commissioner of any concerned taxpayer/noticee.

Separate appeal for every taxpayer/noticee

A separate GSTAT appeal must be filed for each taxpayer or noticee, even where one common Order-in-Appeal or CAA proceeding covers multiple persons.

Each separate appeal must be:

• filed by the CGST Commissionerate having jurisdiction over that particular taxpayer/noticee; and
• filed before the GSTAT Bench having territorial jurisdiction over that particular taxpayer/noticee.

Therefore, the appeal is not necessarily filed before the GSTAT Bench having jurisdiction over the CAA’s location.

Communication after deciding whether to appeal

If an appeal is filed before GSTAT, the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner/Commissioner of the taxpayer must inform the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner having jurisdiction over the CAA.

A copy of the filed appeal must also be provided.

If the Reviewing Authority decides that no departmental appeal is required, that decision must also be communicated to the Commissioner having jurisdiction over the CAA.

Download PDF of Circular-No-256-02-2026