Blog on Circular No. 169/01/2022-GST: Amendment in Adjudication of Show Cause Notices Under GST

2025-03-03 09:47:48 02March

02March

Blog on Circular No. 169/01/2022-GST: Amendment in Adjudication of Show Cause Notices Under GST

<h4>Introduction</h4>The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) issued Circular No. 169/01/2022-GST on March 12, 2022, to amend the adjudication process of show cause notices (SCNs) under Sections 73 and 74 of the CGST Act, 2017. The circular provides clarity on who will adjudicate cases issued by the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) and introduces a mechanism for handling multi-jurisdictional GST disputes.This amendment follows Notification No. 02/2022-Central Tax (March 11, 2022), which empowers Additional Commissioners and Joint Commissioners of Central Tax in specified Commissionerates with All India jurisdiction to adjudicate such SCNs.<hr><h3>Key Highlights of the Circular</h3><h4>1. DGGI Officers Can Issue, But Not Adjudicate, Show Cause Notices</h4><ul><li>Officers from DGGI and Central Tax Audit Commissionerates can issue SCNs.</li><li>However, these notices must be adjudicated by the Central Tax officers of the Executive Commissionerate where the noticee is registered, if the case pertains to a single jurisdiction.</li></ul><h4>2. All India Jurisdiction for Adjudication of Multi-Jurisdictional SCNs</h4><ul><li>If the principal place of business of the noticee falls under multiple Commissionerates, adjudication will be handled by Additional/Joint Commissioners of specified Central Tax Commissionerates who have been granted All India jurisdiction.</li><li>This applies when:<ul><li>Multiple SCNs are issued on the same issue to different taxpayers.</li><li>A taxpayer has multiple GSTINs across different Commissionerates under the same PAN.</li></ul></li></ul><h4>3. Assignment of Adjudication Based on Tax Demand</h4><ul><li>When a multi-jurisdictional case arises, adjudication will be assigned to a Commissionerate where the noticee with the highest tax demand is located.</li><li>TABLE OF ADJUDICATION ZONES:<ul><li>For each Central Tax Zone, a specific Central Tax Commissionerate has been designated to handle the adjudication.</li><li>Example: If a taxpayer from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Mumbai has the highest tax demand in Ahmedabad, the Ahmedabad South Commissionerate will adjudicate.</li></ul></li></ul><h4>4. Handling of Pending SCNs Issued Before March 11, 2022</h4><ul><li>If no adjudication order has been issued yet, SCNs can be reassigned to Additional/Joint Commissioners with All India jurisdiction.</li><li>A corrigendum must be issued to reassign the SCN to the correct adjudicating officer.</li></ul><h4>5. SCNs Issued by Central Tax Audit Commissionerates</h4><ul><li>If a Central Tax Audit Commissionerate issues an SCN involving multiple jurisdictions, they must propose a common adjudicating authority to the CBIC for approval.<a href="https://cms.plasament.com/storage/nisha/circular-169-2022-gst.pdf">circular-169-2022-gst</a>  </li></ul>