The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), Principal Bench, New Delhi, has issued Office Order No. 3/GSTAT/PB/2026 dated 14.05.2026 laying down an important procedural framework for constitution and functioning of Benches under the GST appellate mechanism. The order has been issued in exercise of powers under Section 109(8) of the CGST Act, 2017, Rule 110A of the CGST Rules, 2017 and Rule 123 of the GSTAT (Procedure) Rules, 2025.
The order clarifies the manner in which matters are to be assigned between Division Benches and Single Benches. Although Section 109(8) permits matters involving tax liability or disputed value below ₹50 lakh and not involving any question of law to be heard by a Single Bench, the President has directed that all pending matters as well as future filings before the Principal Bench and State Benches shall first be listed before a Division Bench. Only after the Division Bench records a finding that the matter does not involve any question of law, can the case be placed before the President or Vice-President for assignment to a Single Bench. This direction has been issued to remove administrative and procedural difficulties in bench formation and allocation.
The Office Order further classifies appeals into three broad categories for allocation purposes.
Category I consists of substantive disputes involving interpretation and determination under GST law. These include classification disputes, applicability of exemption notifications, time and value of supply issues, admissibility or denial of input tax credit, determination of tax liability, questions relating to supply, registration disputes, and proceedings under Sections 73 and 74 involving tax short payment, suppression, fraud and excess ITC availment. These are essentially core adjudicatory disputes involving legal interpretation and determination of tax consequences.
Category II covers matters relating to registration, cancellation, composition scheme disputes, refund matters, provisional assessment, recovery proceedings and assessment-related orders. This category broadly includes procedural and compliance-related disputes arising during registration, refund and recovery administration under GST.
Category III includes consequential and ancillary proceedings such as seizure, confiscation, rectification orders, provisional attachment, installment facility orders, compounding matters and penalty proceedings. The order further provides that such Category III matters shall ordinarily be heard by the same Bench which is assigned the principal dispute from which such consequential proceedings arise. However, exceptions have been carved out for Karnataka, Guwahati and Kolkata State Benches.
The Office Order assumes significance as it provides the first structured administrative framework for distribution of GST appellate litigation before GSTAT benches across the country. The categorisation mechanism is expected to streamline roster management, reduce procedural ambiguity and ensure consistency in adjudication. The direction that all matters should initially be screened by a Division Bench also indicates a cautious institutional approach to identifying cases involving questions of law before they are assigned to Single Benches.
The Complete order can be accessed at https://taxo.online/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/GSTAT-order.pdf
