Section 108 of CGST Act - Powers of Revisional Authority
Section 108 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 empowers the Revisional Authority to examine certain orders passed by subordinate GST officers and, after following the statutory safeguards, enhance, modify or annul an order where the conditions for revision are satisfied.
Updated: 15 September 2026
What is a Revisional Authority under the CGST Act?
Section 2(99) of the CGST Act defines "Revisional Authority" as an authority appointed or authorised for revision of decisions or orders as referred to in Section 108. Revision is a supervisory statutory remedy. It is distinct from an appeal filed by an aggrieved person under Section 107.
Section 108 operates subject to Section 121 and the applicable rules. The power is not unrestricted: the authority must satisfy the statutory grounds, respect the bars in sub-section (2), provide an opportunity of hearing, and act within the prescribed limitation period.
Section 108 - Powers of Revisional Authority
(1) Subject to the provisions of section 121 and any rules made thereunder, the Revisional Authority may, on his own motion, or upon information received by him or on request from the Commissioner of State tax, or the Commissioner of Union territory tax, call for and examine the record of any proceedings, and if he considers that any decision or order passed under this Act or under the State Goods and Services Tax Act or the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act by any officer subordinate to him is erroneous in so far as it is prejudicial to the interest of revenue and is illegal or improper or has not taken into account certain material facts, whether available at the time of issuance of the said order or not or in consequence of an observation by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, he may, if necessary, stay the operation of such decision or order for such period as he deems fit and after giving the person concerned an opportunity of being heard and after making such further inquiry as may be necessary, pass such order, as he thinks just and proper, including enhancing or modifying or annulling the said decision or order.
(2) The Revisional Authority shall not exercise any power under sub-section (1), if -
- the order has been subject to an appeal under section 107 or section 112 or section 117 or section 118; or
- the period specified under sub-section (2) of section 107 has not yet expired or more than three years have expired after the passing of the decision or order sought to be revised; or
- the order has already been taken for revision under this section at an earlier stage; or
- the order has been passed in exercise of the powers under sub-section (1).
Provided that the Revisional Authority may pass an order under sub-section (1) on any point which has not been raised and decided in an appeal referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (2), before the expiry of a period of one year from the date of the order in such appeal or before the expiry of a period of three years referred to in clause (b) of that sub-section, whichever is later.
(3) Every order passed in revision under sub-section (1) shall, subject to the provisions of section 113 or section 117 or section 118, be final and binding on the parties.
(4) If the said decision or order involves an issue on which the Appellate Tribunal or the High Court has given its decision in some other proceedings and an appeal to the High Court or the Supreme Court against such decision of the Appellate Tribunal or the High Court is pending, the period spent between the date of the decision of the Appellate Tribunal and the date of the decision of the High Court or the date of the decision of the High Court and the date of the decision of the Supreme Court shall be excluded in computing the period of limitation referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (2) where proceedings for revision have been initiated by way of issue of a notice under this section.
(5) Where the issuance of an order under sub-section (1) is stayed by the order of a court or Appellate Tribunal, the period of such stay shall be excluded in computing the period of limitation referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (2).
(6) For the purposes of this section, the term -
- "record" shall include all records relating to any proceedings under this Act available at the time of examination by the Revisional Authority;
- "decision" shall include intimation given by any officer lower in rank than the Revisional Authority.
When can Section 108 revision be exercised?
The Revisional Authority may act on its own motion, on information received, or on a request from the Commissioner of State tax or Commissioner of Union territory tax. The provision permits examination of the record of proceedings where an order of a subordinate officer is considered erroneous and prejudicial to revenue and is illegal or improper, omits material facts, or requires action because of an observation of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
Restrictions and limitation under Section 108(2)
| Rule | Effect |
|---|---|
| Order already subject to appeal | Revision is barred where the order has been subject to an appeal under Sections 107, 112, 117 or 118, subject to the proviso for a point not raised and decided in appeal. |
| Departmental appeal period | The Revisional Authority cannot exercise the power while the period specified in Section 107(2) has not yet expired. |
| Outer time limit | Revision is ordinarily barred after three years from the passing of the decision or order sought to be revised, subject to statutory exclusions. |
| Repeated revision | An order already taken up for revision at an earlier stage cannot be revised again under Section 108. |
| Revisional order itself | An order passed in exercise of Section 108(1) cannot itself be revised again under that provision. |
The proviso to Section 108(2) preserves revisional power over a point that was not raised and decided in the appeal. For such a point, the revisional order may be passed before one year from the appellate order or before the three-year period under Section 108(2)(b), whichever expires later.
Exclusion of time under Section 108(4) and 108(5)
Section 108 contains specific rules for excluding time when computing the three-year limitation. They cover specified periods during which a relevant higher-court issue is pending and periods during which issuance of the revisional order is stayed by a court or the Appellate Tribunal. The precise statutory conditions should be checked before computing limitation in an individual case.
Who is the Revisional Authority?
For Central Tax, the Government issued Notification No. 05/2020-Central Tax dated 13 January 2020 appointing revisional authorities under the CGST Act. CBIC has also clarified, in the context of orders passed by Common Adjudicating Authorities for DGGI show cause notices, that the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner or Commissioner under whom the Additional or Joint Commissioner is posted acts as the revisional authority for such orders.
Practical point: the competent revisional authority depends on the rank and jurisdiction of the officer whose decision or order is under examination. Always verify the applicable notification and jurisdiction before initiating or responding to revision proceedings.
Related CGST provisions
Section 108 forms part of Chapter XVIII, Appeals and Revision. Closely related provisions include Section 107 - Appeals to Appellate Authority, Section 112 - Appeals to Appellate Tribunal, Section 113 - Orders of Appellate Tribunal, Section 117 - Appeal to High Court, Section 118 - Appeal to Supreme Court and Section 121 - Non-appealable decisions and orders.
Disclaimer: This page is a general legal information resource. For a live proceeding, verify the current Act, rules, notifications, circulars and jurisdiction applicable to the facts.