The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has issued Circular No. 250/07/2025-GST dated June 24, 2025, providing much-needed clarity on the review, revision, and appeal procedures applicable to Orders-in-Original (O-I-Os) passed by Common Adjudicating Authorities (CAA). These authorities, usually officers of the rank of Additional or Joint Commissioner, are tasked with adjudicating show cause notices (SCNs) issued by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI).
This clarification follows references to Notification No. 02/2017-Central Tax dated June 19, 2017 (as amended) and Circular No. 239/33/2024-GST dated December 4, 2024, which designated Joint/Additional Commissioners in specified Commissionerates as CAAs. While the earlier circulars outlined the adjudication process and jurisdictional assignments, they did not explain how to handle appeals, reviews, or revisions of the O-I-Os passed by these CAAs.
Official copy of the circular is as follows
Attention is drawn to notification No. 02/2017 dated 19th June 2017 (as amended) read with circular No. 239/33/2024-GST dated 04th December 2024, wherein Joint/Additional Commissioners posted in specified Commissionerates have been designated as Common Adjudicating Authority (CAA) in respect of show cause notices issued by Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI). The said circular has specified the procedure to be followed in case of assigning such show cause notices to the Common Adjudicating Authority along with their territorial jurisdiction. However, it does not specify the procedure related to review, revision, and appeals for such Orders-in-Original (O-I-Os) passed by CAA.
The matter has been examined in consultation with the Union Ministry of Law and Justice which has clarified that section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017 provides a detailed mechanism for handling the appeals by the Appellate authority and by exercising the same power, the rules have also been framed with regard to appeal and review. Similarly, the Reviewing Authority also has the power under the said section to review adjudication orders passed by a CAA who is posted under the said reviewing authority.
Similarly, section 108 of the CGST Act, 2017, provides a detailed mechanism for revision of such orders. Vide notification No. 05/2020-Central tax dated 13th January, 2020, the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, as the case may be, has been authorized as revisional authority for decisions or orders passed by Additional or Joint Commissioner of Central Tax who are subordinate to him.
Therefore, to ensure uniformity in procedure for review, revision, and appeal against the Orders-in-Original (O-I-Os) adjudicated by Common Adjudicating Authorities, it is hereby clarified that:
a) Review under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017: The Principal Commissioner or Commissioner of Central Tax under whom the Common Adjudicating Authority (Additional/ Joint Commissioner) is posted shall be the reviewing authority in respect of such O-I-Os.
b) Revisional Power under Section 108 of the CGST Act, 2017: The Principal Commissioner or Commissioner of Central Tax under whom the Common Adjudicating Authority (Additional/ Joint Commissioner) is posted shall be the revisional authority in respect of such O-I-Os.
c) Appeal Procedure under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017: Appeals against the order of Common Adjudicating Authority (Additional/Joint Commissioner) shall lie before the Commissioner (Appeals) corresponding to the territorial jurisdiction of the Principal Commissioner or the Commissioner of Central Tax, under whom the said Common Adjudicating Authority (Additional/ Joint Commissioner) is posted, as specified in Table III of notification No. 02/2017- Central tax dated 19th June, 2017.
d) Department's Representation in Appeals: The Principal Commissioner or Commissioner of Central Tax of such Commissionerate under whom the Common Adjudicating Authority (Additional/Joint Commissioner) is posted shall represent the department in appeal proceedings against the O-I-Os passed by such Common Adjudicating Authority (Additional/ Joint Commissioner) and accordingly may appoint any officer subordinate to him to be the designated officer for filing departmental appeals.
e) The reviewing or revisional authority for such orders may seek comments on the O-I-O from the concerned DGGI formation before proceeding to decide on the order passed by the CAA.
It is requested that suitable trade notices may be issued to publicize the contents of this circular.
Difficulty, if any, in the implementation of the above instructions may please be brought to the notice of the Board.
Conclusion
The Common Adjudicating Authorities were introduced to streamline adjudication of SCNs issued by DGGI and to avoid jurisdictional conflicts. With the rapid increase in GST enforcement actions, especially from DGGI, ensuring clear lines of authority for reviews and appeals has become crucial to maintain consistency and avoid administrative delays.
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