TRANSFERRING CASES TO THE PRINCIPAL BENCH

[Puneet Agrawal]

DEAR EVERYONE,

AS PER THE NOTIFICATION S.O 4219(E), Section 109(5)CGST Act proviso 3, principal bench of gst willdeaal with appeals with similar issues .we have already filed 8 different appeals to different gestat and want to know how can i transfer these appeals to the principal bench in delhi.

[Sanjeev Agarwal]

Yes. S.O. 4219(E) dated 17 September 2025 can potentially apply to your 8 appeals, but transfer to the Principal Bench is not automatic merely on the appellant's request.

Legal position

The third proviso to Section 109(5) of the CGST Act, read with S.O. 4219(E), provides that cases pending before two or more State Benches shall be heard only by the Principal Bench where the President of GSTAT is satisfied that an identical question of law is involved.

Official Gazette - S.O. 4219(E)

Therefore, your 8 appeals should qualify for consideration if:

• they are pending before two or more State Benches; and
• substantially the same/identical question of law arises in all appeals.

How to proceed

Do not withdraw the existing appeals and re-file them in Delhi.

Instead, the preferable course is to make an application/representation seeking placement of all 8 appeals before the President, GSTAT, for exercise of jurisdiction under the third proviso to Section 109(5).

The application should contain a consolidated table showing:

Particular	Details
Appeal number	All 8 appeals
Present State Bench	Respective benches
Order appealed against	Order/date
Tax period	Relevant period
Common issue	Identical question of law
Current status	Pending/listed etc.

Most importantly, formulate the identical question of law precisely and explain why all 8 appeals require uniform adjudication.

Suggested prayer

The application may seek:

"Placement of the captioned appeals before the Hon'ble President, GSTAT for determination under the third proviso to Section 109(5) of the CGST Act read with S.O. 4219(E) dated 17.09.2025 and, upon satisfaction that an identical question of law is involved, consequential listing/hearing of the appeals before the Principal Bench."

I would also file/mention appropriate applications in the respective pending appeals so that each State Bench/Registry is formally aware of the request.

Key point: The jurisdiction shifts to the Principal Bench once the President is satisfied that the statutory condition of identical question of law is fulfilled. Hence, the application should focus more on establishing the common legal question than merely requesting administrative transfer.

AI Summary

Identical Questions of Law may enable pending GST appeals across State Benches to be placed before the Principal Bench.
Pending GST appeals before two or more State Benches may be placed before the Principal Bench where an identical question of law arises and the President of GSTAT is satisfied of that condition. Transfer is not automatic and should be sought through an application or representation to the President, rather than by withdrawal and re-filing. The request should provide appeal details, identify the common legal issue, and explain why uniform adjudication is required. Applications may also be filed or mentioned before the respective pending State Benches or Registries.