The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, has issued Office Order No. 4/GSTAT/PB/2026 dated July 29, 2026 for reconstitution of specified Benches and revision of the classification and assignment of cases. The revised arrangements will come into effect from 1 August 2026. The Office Order has been issued in continuation of Office Order No. 03/GSTAT/PB/2026 dated 14 May 2026, following the joining of three Technical Members (State) at the Chennai, Madurai and Delhi State Benches and after examination of the feedback received.
Reconstitution of Delhi Bench
Under the revised arrangement, Shri Sanjay Kumar Aggarwal, Vice-President, along with Shri Rajiv Kapoor, Technical Member (Centre), will hear all Category-I cases at the Delhi Bench on all working days. Shri Arun Kumar Singal, Judicial Member, along with Shri Sanjeev Kumar Jain, Technical Member (State), will hear all Category-II cases on all working days.
Revised Roster for Tamil Nadu Benches
At the Chennai Bench, Shri Praveen Kumar Jain, Vice-President, and Shri Shaik Khader Rahman, Technical Member (Centre), will hear Category-I cases on Mondays and Tuesdays. Shri Praveen Kumar Jain and Shri Kadirvelu Gnanasekaran, Technical Member (State), will hear Category-II cases on Wednesdays.
At the Coimbatore Bench, Shri Praveen Kumar Jain and Shri M. Mathew Jolly, Technical Member (Centre), will hear matters falling under both Categories I and II on Thursdays.
At the Madurai Bench, Shri Praveen Kumar Jain and Shri Selvaraj Gnanakumar, Technical Member (State), will hear matters under Categories I and II on the first, second and third Fridays of every month. At the Puducherry Circuit Bench, Shri Praveen Kumar Jain and Shri Shaik Khader Rahman will hear matters under both categories on the fourth and fifth Fridays of every month.
Changes in Lucknow Bench
At the Lucknow Bench, Shri Santosh Kumar Srivastava, Judicial Member, along with Shri Arvind Kumar, Technical Member (State), will hear all Category-I cases on all working days. Shri Narendra Kumar, Judicial Member, along with Shri Alok Chopra, Technical Member (Centre), will hear all Category-II cases on all working days.
Revised Classification of Cases Across GSTAT Benches
The revised two-category classification will apply to all GSTAT Benches across India, except the Bengaluru Bench, for which a separate classification has been prescribed.
Category-I will broadly cover disputes relating to classification of goods or services, applicability of notifications, determination of time and value of supply, admissibility or blocking of input tax credit, determination of tax liability, recovery proceedings, tax wrongfully collected, assessment orders, refund matters, provisional assessment, seizure or confiscation, rectification of orders, demands arising under earlier laws and permission for payment in instalments.
Category-II will broadly include matters relating to registration, determination of whether a transaction constitutes supply, tax and input tax credit proceedings under Sections 73 and 74, amendment, suspension or cancellation of registration, revocation of cancellation, composition scheme disputes, provisional attachment of property, imposition of penalties, compounding of offences and other residual matters not specifically covered under the prescribed categories.
Special Three-Category Framework for Bengaluru Bench
A separate three-category system has been prescribed exclusively for the Bengaluru Bench. Shri H. G. Nagarathna, Vice-President, and Shri D. Jagannatha Sagar, Technical Member (State), will hear Category-I cases. Shri Srikanth Venkatraman, Judicial Member, and Ms. Sudha Koka, Technical Member (Centre), will hear Category-II cases. Shri Prabhakaran P. M., Judicial Member, and Shri Ravi Jesuraj S., Technical Member (State), will hear Category-III cases. All three Benches will function on all working days.
Under the Bengaluru-specific arrangement, Category-I will primarily cover classification, notification applicability, time and value of supply, input tax credit, tax liability, refund, provisional assessment, seizure and confiscation matters, along with residual matters. Category-II will cover GST practitioner enrolment, recovery proceedings, assessment, provisional attachment, penalties, rectification, earlier-law demands and compounding matters. Category-III will primarily deal with tax and input tax credit proceedings under Sections 73 and 74 and matters relating to registration, amendment, suspension, cancellation and revocation of cancellation.
Reassignment of Part-Heard Matters
The Office Order provides that all part-heard matters will be released and reassigned in accordance with the revised classification and assignment of cases. This will ensure that pending matters are placed before the appropriate Benches under the new roster arrangement.
Registry Directed to Independently Examine Nature of Cases
To ensure uniformity and avoid ambiguity in the classification of cases, the Registries of GSTAT Benches have been directed not to classify a matter solely on the basis of the category declared by the appellant or petitioner. While such declaration may be considered as one of the relevant factors, the Registry will independently examine the pleadings, factual matrix and questions of law involved before placing the matter before the appropriate Bench.
The revised roster and classification framework is aimed at ensuring greater consistency, clarity and uniformity in the allocation and hearing of appeals before the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal.
The new arrangements will be operational from 1 August 2026.
The Office Order can be accessed at: https://a2ztaxcorp.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/GSTAT-Roster-Arrangemnet-w.e.f-01.08.2026.pdf
