The President of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) has issued Office Order No. 4/GSTAT/PB/2026 dated 29 July 2026, introducing a comprehensive restructuring of GSTAT Benches across the country. The reconstitution follows the joining of additional Technical Members (State) at various State Benches and aims to streamline case allocation, improve judicial efficiency, and ensure uniformity in the handling of GST disputes. The revised framework will come into force from 1 August 2026.

Reconstitution of Benches

Significant changes have been made in the composition and jurisdictional allocation of the Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Lucknow Benches. At the Delhi Bench, Category-I matters have been assigned to the Bench comprising the Vice-President and Technical Member (Centre), while Category-II matters will be heard by the Bench comprising the Judicial Member and Technical Member (State). Similar bench-wise allocations have been prescribed for Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Puducherry and Lucknow.

Revised Classification of GST Appeals

One of the most important features of the Office Order is the introduction of a revised classification mechanism for appeals across all GSTAT Benches (except Bengaluru).

Category-I Cases

Category-I primarily covers disputes involving substantive tax determination and credit-related issues, including:

• Classification of goods or services;
• Applicability of exemption notifications;
• Time and value of supply disputes;
• Admissibility or denial of Input Tax Credit (ITC);
• Tax liability determination;
• Recovery proceedings and garnishee actions;
• Assessment orders;
• Refund-related disputes;
• Confiscation and seizure matters;
• Rectification and legacy tax demand orders.

Category-II Cases

Category-II covers compliance and enforcement-oriented matters, including:

• Registration and amendment disputes;
• Determination of tax and ITC under Sections 73 and 74;
• Registration cancellation and revocation proceedings;
• Composition scheme disputes;
• Provisional attachment orders;
• Penalty proceedings; and
• Residual matters not specifically covered elsewhere.

Special Framework for Bengaluru Bench

Unlike other State Benches, the Bengaluru Bench will continue to operate under a unique three-category system. Separate Benches have been constituted for Category-I, Category-II and Category-III matters, with Category-III specifically covering proceedings under Sections 73 and 74, registration disputes and cancellation matters.

Part-Heard Matters to Be Reassigned

The Office Order directs that all part-heard matters shall stand released and reassigned according to the revised classification and roster system. This may result in pending appeals being placed before different Benches depending upon their categorisation under the new framework.

Guidance for Registry on Classification

To avoid inconsistent allocation of cases, the Registry has been instructed not to rely solely upon the category declared by the appellant. Instead, the Registry must independently examine the pleadings, facts involved and legal issues arising in the appeal before assigning the matter to the appropriate category and Bench.

The revised classification is expected to significantly influence the manner in which GST appeals are listed and heard across the country. By separating technical issues such as classification, valuation, refunds and ITC disputes from registration, penalty and demand proceedings, GSTAT seeks to develop specialised streams of adjudication and improve disposal efficiency. The reallocation of part-heard matters and the introduction of a more structured categorisation mechanism may, however, require litigants and practitioners to carefully evaluate the nature of disputes while filing appeals before the Tribunal.

The complete Order can be accessed at https://taxo.online/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Office-Order-4-dt-29.07.26-Reconstitution-of-Benchesw.e.f-01.08.2026.pdf