This letter from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) outlines concerns with a recent circular regarding the jurisdiction for appeals and revisions of orders from Common Adjudicating Authorities (CAAs). The ICAI points out that while a notification granted all-India jurisdiction to certain Joint and Additional Commissioners to adjudicate show cause notices from the DGGI, a subsequent circular attempts to extend the same all-India jurisdiction to appellate authorities.

The ICAI argues that this extension through a circular lacks legal backing, as notifications are legally binding while circulars are administrative in nature. This discrepancy could lead to legal challenges. In addition, the ICAI highlights practical problems with the current GST portal, which is designed for territorial jurisdiction. The portal does not allow CAAs to upload necessary forms for taxpayers outside their immediate area, making it impossible for those taxpayers to file appeals electronically. This forces taxpayers to travel and hire local legal help, which increases costs and goes against the goal of simplifying business operations. The ICAI recommends either reverting to a territorial jurisdiction model for appeals or, if an all-India model is to be retained, to formally amend the relevant notification to ensure its legal validity and update the GST portal to support it.

THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS OF INDIA
(Set up by an Act of Parliament)

Shri Shashank Priya, IRS
Member (GST, CX & ST)
Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs
Department of Revenue
Government of India
North Block
New Delhi — 110001

Esteemed Sir,

Sub: Request for Clarification Regarding Jurisdiction to Review /Decide Appeals under Section 107 of CGST Act, 2017 or Revision of Orders under Section 108 of CGST Act, 2017 Against Orders Passed by Additional / Joint Commissioners Having All-India Jurisdiction

Greetings. This refers to the recent Circular No. 250/07/2025-GST dated 24⁶ June, 2025 issued by the

CBIC regarding Reviewing authority, Revisional Authority and Appellate Authority in respect of orders passed by Common Adjudicating Authority (CAA) for show cause notices issued by DGGI.

Practical Challenges in Implementation of the Circular

2. We humbly submit that the implementation of the said Circular may give rise to practical issues and will create genuine difficulties for taxpayers in availing the appellate remedies provided in the GST law. The key concerns are summarized in the ensuing paragraphs.

Territorial vs. All India jurisdiction of Central tax Officers

3. The jurisdiction of Central Tax Officers has been prescribed vide Notification No. 02/2017 dated 19⁶ June 2017 (as amended) read with Circular No. 31/05/2018-GST dated 9⁶ February 2018 (as amended) [enclosed as Annexures A & B respectively]. In terms of para 3A' of the said notification, Joint/Additional Commissioners posted in specified Commissionerates have been designated as CAA with All India jurisdiction to adjudicate show cause notices issued by the officers of Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI). It is pertinent to mention here that in terms of para 6 of Circular No. 31/05/2018 — GST dated 9″ February 2018 (as amended) Central Tax officers of Audit Commissionerates and DGGI can only issue show cause notices (SCN) and do not have power to adjudicate them.

4. A conjoint reading of Notification No. 02/2017 dated 19^th June 2017 (as amended) read with Circular No. 31/05/2018-GST dated 9^th February 2018 (as amended) shows that the jurisdiction of various ranks of Central Tax officers has been notified in terms of the territorial / geographical location and jurisdiction for a taxpayer is determined with reference to the geographical location of his principal place of business (hereinafter referred to as PPB).

5. As an exception to the territorial jurisdiction, All India jurisdiction has been granted to specified Additional / Joint Commissioners of Central Tax for adjudicating SCNs issued by the officers of DGGI vide Notification No. 0²/₂ Such officers have been empowered to pass an adjudication order in respect of SCNs involving noticees located under the jurisdiction of multiple Central Tax Commissionerates. Further the jurisdiction of such CAA is determined with reference to the location of PPB of the noticee having the highest amount of demand of tax.

Example: If taxpayers (having different PAN) with PPB in Baroda, Indore, Raipur, and Ghaziabad are issued an SCN and the highest demand is on the taxpayer having PPB in Raipur, the Additional/Joint Commissioner posted in the Office of Principal Commissioner Raipur would adjudicate the matter.

Lack of Legal Backing for All India Jurisdiction of Appellate Authorities

6. While Circular No. 31/05/2018-GST dated 9^th February 2018 (as amended) outlines the procedure to be followed in case of assigning the show cause notices to the CAA with their territorial jurisdiction, it does not specify the procedure related to review of, revision of, and appeals against such Orders-in -Original (0-I-Os) passed by CAA. The recent Circular No. 250/07/2025-GST dated 24^th June, 2025 seeks to provide for the same [enclosed as Annexure Cl.

7. In effect, Circular No. 250/07/2025-GST dated 24^th June, 2025, has granted All India Jurisdiction to the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner and Commissioner (Appeals) under whom the CAA (Additional/Joint Commissioner) is posted for exercising the powers of review, revision and appeal against the 0-I-Os adjudicated by such CAA.

8. With utmost respect, we submit that while the All India jurisdiction for Additional/Joint Commissioners was rightly conferred through an amendment to Notification No. 02/2017-Central Tax dated 19th June 2017, the extension of similar jurisdiction to the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner and Commissioner (Appeals) has been done through a Circular. It is a well-established legal position that notifications issued under delegated statutory powers carry legal authority while circulars are administrative instructions. Therefore, such a jurisdictional change ideally requires an amendment to the relevant notification, as a circular cannot amend or override the provisions laid down in a notification.

Practical Difficulties in filing appeal against 0-I-Os passed by CAA on Common Portal

9. It is important to note that the CAAs have not been given All India Jurisdiction on common portal and therefore, they cannot upload Form GST DRC-07 (hereinafter referred to as "DRC-07") for taxpayers whose PPB is in a different Commissionerate.

For instance, in the example cited at para 5 above, the CAA in Raipur Commissionerate can upload DRC-07 for taxpayer having PPB in Raipur but cannot upload DRC-07 for taxpayers having PPB in Baroda, Indore and Ghaziabad. In such cases, the CAA requests the jurisdictional officers having jurisdiction in Baroda, Indore and Ghaziabad to upload DRC-07 on common portal. As a result, the taxpayers with PPB in Baroda, Indore and Ghaziabad are unable to file their appeal on the common portal before Commissioner (Appeals) Raipur, as the portal permits filing only within their own jurisdiction. At the same time, the Commissioner (Appeals) having jurisdiction of Baroda, Indore and Ghaziabad cannot accept the appeal (hard copy/manual filing) either, since the 0-1-0 was passed by an officer outside their jurisdiction.

10. Given that the^. appeal on the portal flows to the Appellate Authority as per the taxpayer's jurisdiction, it is unclear to how an Appellate Authority with All India Jurisdiction will access and process the appeal against the 0-I-Os passed by CAA without the corresponding ARN appearing on their dashboard.

11. Moreover, it is also not clear how the jurisdictional Appellate Authorities will transfer such pending appeals (as appearing on their dashboard) to the Appellate Authority having All India Jurisdiction on the common portal.

Concern Regarding Access to Justice and Ease of Doing Business

12. The assignment of All India jurisdiction to common Appellate Authorities, although operationally intended for streamlining, inadvertently complicates access to justice. A taxpayer with PPB in Ghaziabad, for example, would be required to participate in the entire first appellate proceedings, review, or revision proceedings in another city—such as Raipur—where it has no business establishment or operations. This will create significant hardship for taxpayers, who would now face increased costs in terms of travel, engaging legal representation in distant locations, and time spent away from their primary place of business. This not only affects medium and small taxpayers more acutely but also goes against the Government's broader objective of promoting ease of doing business by reducing the compliance burden on taxpayers.

Our Humble Request

13. To address the practical difficulties and legal concerns arising from Circular No. 250/07/2025-GST dated 24th June 2025, we respectfully suggest the following for kind consideration:

(ia) Territorial jurisdiction for Appeal / Review^. / Revision: Appeals against the 04-0s passed by CAA may lie before the respective Appellate Authorities having territorial jurisdiction over PPB of the taxpayer in line with the established principles of taxpayer-centric administration and broader goals of improving ease of doing business. Similarly review and revision functions in respect of such 04-0s may also lie before the Authorities having territorial jurisdiction over PPB of the taxpayer. For this purpose, suitable amendments may be made in the Circular No. 250/07/2025-GST dated 24^th June, 2025.

(ib) Common Portal Enhancements: The Common Portal may be suitably enhanced to enable the CAAs to upload DRC-07s for all noticees covered under their All India jurisdiction, irrespective of the PPB location. This will streamline the process of appeal filing on the portal.

(ic) Instructions to Appellate Authorities: Instructions may be issued directing the jurisdictional Appellate Authorities to accept appeals (even in manual/hard copy mode if required temporarily) against the 04-0 passed by CAA posted elsewhere, till the time the technological enhancements are made on the portal.

(ii) Alternate view — Amendment in GST Notification to Ensure Legal Validity of All India Jurisdiction:  In an alternate view, if centralized jurisdiction for review/revision/appeal is intended to be retained for consistency or administrative convenience, then All India jurisdiction to the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner and Commissioner (Appeals) may be explicitly conferred through a suitable amendment to Notification No. 02/2017 dated 19^,h June 2017 (as amended) read with Circular No. 31/05/2018-GST dated 9^th February 2018 (as amended). This will ensure legal sustainability and avoid unwarranted litigation on jurisdictional aspects.

This is submitted for your kind consideration. We shall be glad to provide any further inputs as may be required. Your office may contact the undersigned at rk@icai.in / 9444017087 or CA. Umesh Sharma, Vice Chairman, GST & Indirect Taxes Committee at fcaumeshsharma@gmail.com / 9822079900 or the Secretary to the Committee at gst@icai.in / 9205559863.

Yours sincerely,

Rajendra Kumar P
Chairman
GST & Indirect Taxes Committee

Annexure A

NOTIFICATION NO. 2/2017-CENTRAL TAX, DATED 19-6-2017 [UPDATED]

[As Corrected by Corrigendum F.No. 349/52/2017-Gst, dated 29-7-2019]

[As Amended by Notification No. 79/2018-Central Tax, dated 31-12-2018, Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, Notification No. 51/2019 – Central Tax, dated 31-10-2019, Notification No. 2/2021 – Central Tax, dated 12-1-2021, Notification No. 2/2022-Central Tax, dated, 11-3-2022, Notification No. 39/2023-Central Tax, dated 17-8-2023, Notification No. 5/2024-Central Tax, dated 30-1-2024, Notification No.10/2024-Central Tax, dated 29-5-2024, Notification No. 11/2024-Central Tax, dated 30-5-2024, Notification No. 27/2024-Central Tax, dated 25-11-2024 and Notification No. 10/2025-Central Tax, dated 13-03-2025 ]

In exercise of the powers under section 3, read with section 5 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (12 of 2017) and section 3 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (13 of 2017), ¹[the Government] hereby appoints—

(a) Principal Chief Commissioners of Central Tax and Principal Directors General of Central Tax,

(b) Chief Commissioners of Central Tax and Directors General of Central Tax,

(c)  Principal Commissioners of Central Tax and Principal Additional Directors General of Central Tax,

(d)  Commissioners of Central Tax and Additional Directors General of Central Tax,

(e)  Additional Commissioners of Central Tax and Additional Directors of Central Tax,

(f)  Joint Commissioners of Central Tax and Joint Directors of Central Tax,

(g)  Deputy Commissioners of Central Tax and Deputy Directors of Central Tax,

(h)  Assistant Commissioners of Central Tax and Assistant Directors of Central Tax,

(i)  Commissioners of Central Tax (Audit),

(j)  Commissioners of Central Tax (Appeals),

(k) Additional Commissioners of Central Tax (Appeals),

²[(l) Joint Commissioner of Central Tax (Appeals),]

and the central tax officers subordinate to them as central tax officers and vests them with all the powers under both the said Acts and the rules made thereunder with respect to the jurisdiction specified in the Tables given below.

2. The Principal Chief Commissioners of Central Tax or the Chief Commissioners of Central Tax, as the case may be, specified in column (2) of Table I, are hereby vested with the territorial jurisdiction over the—

(a) Principal Commissioners of Central Tax and Commissioners of Central Tax, as the case may be, specified in the corresponding entry in column (3) of the said Table;

Notification No. 2/2017-Central Tax, dated 19-6-2017

(a) Commissioners of Central Tax (Appeals) specified in the corresponding entry in column (4) of the said Table;

(c)  Additional Commissioners³[or Joint Commissioner] of Central Tax (Appeals) specified in the corresponding entry in column (4) of the said Table; and

(d)  Commissioners of Central Tax (Audit) specified in the corresponding entry in column (5) of the said Table.

3. The Principal Commissioners of Central Tax or the Commissioners of Central Tax, as the case may be, specified in column (2) of Table II and the central tax officers subordinate to them, are hereby vested with the territorial jurisdiction specified in the corresponding entry in column (3) of the said Table.

⁴[Notwithstanding anything contained in this notification, the central tax officer specified in column (3) of Table I and the officers subordinate to him shall exercise powers under sections 73, 74, 75 and 76 of Chapter XV of the said Act throughout the territorial jurisdiction of the corresponding central tax officer specified in column (2) of the said Table in respect of those cases as may be assigned by the Board.]

⁵[3A. Notwithstanding anything contained in paragraph 3, the Additional Commissioners or the Joint Commissioners of Central Tax, as the case may be, subordinate to the Principal Commissioners of Central Tax or the Commissioners of Central Tax, as specified in column (2) of Table V, are hereby vested with the powers as specified in the corresponding entry in Column (3) of the said Table.]

4. The Commissioners of Central Tax (Appeals) and ⁶[any officer not below the rank of Joint Commissioners (Appeals)] specified in column (2) of Table III and the central tax officers subordinate to them are hereby vested with the territorial jurisdiction of the Principal Commissioners of Central Tax or the Commissioners of Central Tax, as the case may be, specified in the corresponding entry in column (3) of the said Table.

5. The Commissioners of Central Tax (Audit) specified in column (2) of Table IV and the central tax officers subordinate to them are hereby vested with the territorial jurisdiction of the Principal Commissioners of Central Tax or the Commissioners of Central Tax, as the case may be, specified in the corresponding entry in column (3) of the said Table.

Notes:

1Corrected vide CORRIGENDUM dated 29-07-2019 before it was read "the Central Board of Excise and Customs"

2 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

3 Substituted for "Additional Commissioner" by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

4 Inserted by Notification No. 79/2018 – Central Tax, dated 31-12-2018, w.e.f. 31-12-2018.

5 Inserted by Notification No. 2/2022-Central Tax, dated, 11-3-2022, w.e.f. 11-3-2022.

6 Substituted for "Additional Commissioners of Central Tax (Appeals)" by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

7 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

8 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

9 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

10 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

11 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

12 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

13 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

14 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

15 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

16 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

17 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

18 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

19 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

20 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

21 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

22 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

23 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

24 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

25 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

26 Substituted by Notification No. 2/2021-Central Tax, dated 12-1-2021, w.e.f. 12-1-2021. Prior to its substitution the 7.4.2 as amended by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2­2019, read as under:

27 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

28 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

29 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

30 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

31 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

32 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

33 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

34 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

35 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

36 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

37 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

38 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

39 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

40 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

41 Substituted by Notification No. 2/2021-Central Tax, dated 12-1-2021, w.e.f. 12-1-2021. Prior to its substitution. the 14.4.1 as amended by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2­2019, read as under:

42 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

43 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

44 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

45 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

46 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

47 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

48 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

49 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

50 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

51 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

52 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

53 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

54 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

55 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

56 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

57 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

58 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

59 Substituted by Notification No. 10/2025-Central Tax, dated 13-3-2025. Prior to its substitution, sl.no. 7 read

⁶⁰ Substituted by Notification No. 10/2025-Central Tax, dated 13-3-2025. Prior to its substitution, no. 23 read as under: 61 Substituted by Notification No. 39/2023-Central Tax, dated 17-8-2023, w.r.e.f. 4-4-2022. Prior to its substitution, serial number 39 read as under:d

62 Substituted by Notification No. 10/2025-Central Tax, dated 13-3-2025,. Prior to its substitution, no. 49 read as under: 63 Substituted for "State of Jammu and Kashmir" by Notification No. 51/2019 – Central Tax, dated 31-10-2019.

64 Substituted by Notification No. 10/2025-Central Tax, dated 13-03-2025. Prior to its substitution, no. 53 read as under:

68 Substituted by Notification No. 39/2023-Central Tax, dated 17-8-2023, w.r.e.f. 4-4-2022. Prior to its substitution, serial number 101 read as under:

⁶⁹ Substituted by Notification No. 10/2025-Central Tax, dated 13-3-2025. Prior to its substitution, no. 102 read as under:

70 Substituted by Notification No. 39/2023-Central Tax, dated 17-8-2023, w.r.e.f. 4-4-2022. Prior to its substitution, serial number 107 read as under:

71 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

72 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

73 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

74 Inserted by Notification No. 4/2019 – Central Tax, dated 29-1-2019, w.e.f. 1-2-2019.

⁷⁵[Note 1: The Commissioner (Appeals I) Delhi mentioned in Column (4) for entries at SI. Nos. 7.4.1 and 7.4.2 shall have jurisdiction over Delhi I and Delhi II mentioned in Column (2) at SI. Nos. 13 and 14 of Table III;

Note 2: The Commissioner (Appeals II) Mumbai mentioned in Column (4) for entries at SI. Nos. 14.4.1 and 14.4.2 shall have jurisdiction over Mumbai I and Mumbai II mentioned in Column (2) at SI. Nos. 31 and 32 of Table III.]

75 Inserted by Notification No. 2/2021-Central Tax, dated 12-1-2021, w.e.f. 12-1-2021. 76 Substituted by Notification No. 27/2024-Central Tax, Dated, 25-11-2024, w.e.f. 01-12-2024, before it was read as under "77 Inserted by Notification No. 2/2022-Central Tax, Dated, 11-3-2022, w.e.f. 11-3-2022.