Not by itself. A CBIC circular can guide how GST officers carry out duties, and it may allocate work among officers who already have legal authority. But the Delhi High Court has held that a circular issued under section 168 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) does not independently create, transfer or assign statutory jurisdiction. To assess a particular notice or action, identify the exact function and check the Act, the applicable appointment or assignment instruments, and the officer’s limits.
What a circular can—and cannot—do
The key distinction is between legal authority and administrative work allocation. The CGST Act provides specific routes relevant to appointing officers, vesting or assigning functions, and transferring functions. In Katyani Exports Through Its Proprietor v. Union of India and Ors., the Delhi High Court discussed sections 3, 5(3) and 167 in that context, distinguishing them from section 168, which empowers the Board to issue orders, instructions or directions for uniform implementation of the Act.
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The court’s conclusion was direct: “Thus, Section 168 does not independently confer, transfer or assign jurisdiction.” That statement is from paragraph 22 of the Delhi High Court’s judgment dated September 16, 2026, and must be understood in the context of the provisions and circular before it. It does not mean circulars are irrelevant. A circular may standardize procedure or distribute a matter among officers who are already competent under the relevant statutory instruments.
Three questions to keep separate
- Was the officer appointed or empowered? Check the statutory basis and relevant notification.
- Was the officer assigned this function? Some functions depend on a “proper officer” assignment. Section 2(91) defines the proper officer in terms of the Commissioner or a Central Tax officer assigned the function by the Commissioner in the Board.
- Was the matter allocated among competent officers? A section 168 direction may address administration or uniform implementation, but it cannot serve as the only source of jurisdiction where the law requires an appointment or assignment.
What the cases decided
The cases below concern different functions and instruments. Their outcomes are not a single rule that circulars always authorize officers—or that circulars never matter.
| Case | Function and officers | What the court decided |
|---|---|---|
| Katyani Exports Through Its Proprietor v. Union of India and Ors. Delhi High Court, September 16, 2026 |
Adjudication of specified DGGI show-cause notices; the circular at issue allocated composite notices using the highest-demand criterion. | The court described Notification 2/2017 as assigning territorial jurisdiction to Central Tax officers and Notification 2/2022 as giving listed Additional or Joint Commissioners pan-India adjudication jurisdiction for specified DGGI notices. It treated the challenged circular as selecting among officers already in the competent class, not as creating jurisdiction. |
| Ganapati Ispat v. Union of India Andhra Pradesh High Court, December 17, 2025 |
A penalty notice under CGST Act section 122; Notification 2/2017 was relevant. | The court read the notification as potentially fixing territorial jurisdiction for powers conferred by the Act, rather than automatically granting every listed officer every statutory power. It set aside the notice and left open the broader question of whether all officers had jurisdiction under that notification. |
| M/S R.C. Infra Digital Solutions v. Union of India Allahabad High Court, January 5, 2024 |
Section 70 summons issued by DGGI officers; Notification 14/2017 and Board Circular 3/3/2017-GST were considered. | On those facts and instruments, the court upheld the officers’ authority to issue summons and rejected the argument that a separate section 167 notification was required for that function. |
Katyani Exports is the clearest recent explanation of why a section 168 circular cannot itself supply jurisdiction. The other decisions show why function, officer, notification and procedural context matter. In particular, R.C. Infra concerns section 70 summons and its specific instruments; it is not a general ruling that any circular can authorize any enforcement or adjudication action. Ganapati Ispat likewise did not decide the broader question it left open.
How to check an officer’s authority in a specific matter
Apply these checks to the act actually taken, not just to the circular cited in a notice. The instruments and limits in force on the relevant dates matter.
- Identify the exact function. Distinguish, for example, a summons, inspection, penalty proceeding or adjudication of a show-cause notice. Authority for one function does not automatically establish authority for another.
- Identify the officer. Note the officer’s rank, department and statutory status, including whether the officer is a Central or State GST officer.
- Find the enabling instrument. Check the applicable appointment or empowerment notification and, where the function requires it, the proper-officer assignment.
- Check the limits. Look for territorial, pecuniary and subject-matter boundaries, as well as any special pan-India authority. Confirm which versions applied on the relevant dates.
- Read the circular’s role carefully. Ask whether it supplies uniform procedure or allocates work within an already competent class—or whether the claimed authority depends on the circular alone.
- Consider cross-empowerment separately. If Central and State GST administrations are involved, examine the applicable provisions and any notified conditions.
- Check precedent and later history. Give particular weight to decisions in the relevant jurisdiction, and compare the function and instruments actually considered in each case.
This is an analytical framework, not a conclusion about any individual notice. The actual notice, current consolidated Act, notifications, circulars and subsequent appellate orders must be checked before drawing a case-specific conclusion.
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Cross-empowerment is not the same question as whether a CBIC circular under section 168 creates jurisdiction. CGST Act section 6 and corresponding State GST provisions provide a related route for officers of one administration to exercise functions in defined circumstances, subject to applicable conditions. The Kerala High Court’s Slm Stationery v. Union of India discusses that framework. The Delhi High Court’s M/S Armour Security (India) Ltd. v. Commissioner, CGST, Delhi East reproduces an administrative clarification taking the view that Central and State officers may act under their respective enactments for intelligence-based enforcement in the described context, with notifications relevant where conditions are imposed. Whether that route applies depends on the particular enactment, conditions and facts; it does not turn a section 168 circular into an independent grant of authority.
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