GST Circular No 239/2024
The Government of India, through a Circular dated 4th December 2024, amends Circular No. 31/05/2018-GST regarding the adjudication of show cause notices issued by the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI). The amendment, resulting from Notification No. 27/2024-Central Tax, empowers Additional/Joint Commissioners of Central Tax in specific Commissionerates with all-India jurisdiction to adjudicate such notices. The change, effective from 1st December 2024, aims to streamline the adjudication process for show cause notices issued to multiple noticees or those involving the same issues.
The Circular clarifies that for cases involving multiple noticees with the same or different PANs, the adjudication will be carried out by Additional/Joint Commissioners of specified Commissionerates with all-India jurisdiction. The primary criterion for determining the
adjudicating authority is the highest tax demand in the show cause notice. A table is provided detailing which Central Tax Commissionerates will be responsible for adjudicating cases based on the location of the principal place of business of the noticee with the highest tax demand.
Additionally, for show cause notices issued before 25th November 2024, where no adjudication order has been issued by 30th November 2024, the Circular allows these notices to be adjudicated by the Additional/Joint Commissioners of Central Tax with all-India jurisdiction, in line with the new criteria. The Circular also encourages the issuance of trade notices to inform the public and addresses any implementation difficulties.
