Summary: Notification No. 27/2024-Central Tax enables centralized adjudication of multi-State investigations by assigning jurisdiction to officers handling the highest tax demand. However, this framework lacks statutory clarity regarding post-adjudication remedies, creating legal uncertainty for appeals and reviews that a subsequent CBIC circular cannot fully resolve. The issue requires legislative action through the GST Council to establish uniform territorial jurisdiction for such cases.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) law originally contemplated adjudication and appellate remedies based upon territorial jurisdiction linked to the taxpayer’s principal place of business.
However, with the increasing number of multi-State investigations by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), the Government introduced a mechanism for the centralized adjudication of such cases through specified Commissionerates. The DGGI was assigned all-India jurisdiction to book cases against erring taxpayers through Notification No. 2/2017-Central Tax dated 19.06.2017.
Notification No. 2/2022-Central Tax dated 11.03.2022 amended the jurisdictional Notification No. 2/2017-Central Tax dated 19.06.2017 by inserting Table V for the first time. The newly inserted Table V specified ten Commissionerates whose Joint Commissioners and Additional Commissioners were empowered to act as common adjudicating authorities for notices issued by the DGGI. It was clarified through CBIC Circular No. 169/01/2022-GST dated 12.03.2022 that a Joint or Additional Commissioner acting as a common adjudicating authority would adjudicate cases irrespective of whether the tax demand was less or more than Rs. 2 crore.
Subsequently, Notification No. 27/2024-Central Tax dated 09.12.2024 replaced Table V and expanded the mechanism to twenty-one Commissionerates across the country regarding the adjudication of notices by Joint or Additional Commissioners.
The scheme under Notification No. 27/2024-Central Tax dated 09.12.2024 provides that the Joint Commissioner or Additional Commissioner of the specified Commissionerate will adjudicate notices issued by the DGGI across India. The notification further stipulates that where multiple notices involving taxpayers located in different States are issued on the same issue, the adjudication will be undertaken by the Joint Commissioner or Additional Commissioner having jurisdiction over the taxpayer involving the highest demand amount.
The intention behind the notification appears to be administrative convenience, the avoidance of conflicting decisions, and uniformity in adjudication for complex DGGI investigations involving several States. Centralized adjudication may also reduce the duplication of proceedings and facilitate coordinated decision-making in cases involving common facts and allegations.
However, the notification carefully limits such jurisdiction only to the functions necessary to pass adjudication orders by taking recourse to the provisions under Sections 67, 73, 74, 76, 122, 125, 127, 129, and 130 of the CGST Act, 2017. The wording of the notification does not expressly confer any wider or consequential jurisdiction post-adjudication under these specified provisions.
Thus, the all-India jurisdiction granted to the Joint Commissioner or Additional Commissioner appears confined only to the passing of adjudication orders under the specified sections. The notification does not specifically deal with first appeals under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017, review proceedings under Section 108 of the CGST Act, 2017 by the Commissioners of the specified Commissionerates or subsequent judicial remedies before the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) or the High Courts.
CBIC Circular No. 250/2025-Central Tax dated 24.06.2025 attempted to address this issue by clarifying that appeals under Section 107 and review proceedings under Section 108 would lie before the Appellate Authority having jurisdiction over the Commissionerate where the adjudicating authority passed the order and the jurisdictional executive Commissioner, respectively. The circular appears intended to create administrative clarity and avoid uncertainty regarding review and appellate forums.
Nevertheless, a Circular cannot enlarge statutory jurisdiction beyond what has been expressly granted by a notification issued under the Act. Notification No. 27/2024-Central Tax grants powers only for the adjudication of specified notices and does not expressly allocate jurisdiction relating to appeals under Section 107, reviews under Section 108, GSTAT proceedings, or High Court jurisdiction. Under GST law, the conferment of jurisdiction generally requires specific statutory authorization.
The issue also assumes significance because appellate jurisdiction under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017 and review jurisdiction under Section 108 of the said Act are independent statutory functions. Merely because an officer is granted nationwide adjudication powers for specified proceedings does not automatically imply that all consequential appellate or review proceedings stand transferred to the Appellate Authorities having jurisdiction over those Commissionerate or the executive Commissioner of the adjudicating authority. In the absence of explicit statutory provisions, ordinary territorial principles may continue to apply.
A CBIC circular also cannot determine the jurisdiction of the GST Appellate Tribunal or the High Courts. High Court jurisdiction generally depends upon the territorial cause of action and the location of the taxpayer, not merely upon the location of the adjudicating authority or the Commissionerate referred to in a departmental circular. Similarly, GSTAT jurisdiction must flow from the statutory provisions governing territorial and functional jurisdiction under the GST enactments.
Consequently, Notification No. 27/2024-Central Tax dated 09.12.2024 and Circular No. 250/2025-Central Tax dated 24.06.2025 have raised important legal and procedural questions regarding appeals under Section 107, review proceedings under Section 108, GSTAT jurisdiction, and High Court jurisdiction in DGGI common adjudication matters.
The CBIC may examine these issues and issue a suitable clarification after placing the matter before the GST Council to ensure certainty, uniformity and the smooth implementation of common adjudication mechanism under GST.
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