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Section 116 of the CGST Act, 2017

From the IndiaAuditLens Law Library

GST›CGST Act, 2017›Chapter XVIII, Appeals and Revision

At a glance

Entitlement and conditions

  • 116(1)Representation before an officer, Appellate Authority or Tribunal is subject to this section and cannot replace required personal examination on oath or affirmation.
  • 116(2)(d)An eligible retired Commercial Tax Department or Board officer must have served at least two years at Group-B Gazetted rank or above, and wait one year after retirement or resignation.

Bars, duties and time limits

  • 116(3)–(4)Government dismissal or removal, specified tax-proceeding convictions and prescribed-authority misconduct findings disqualify permanently; insolvency disqualifies while it continues. State or Union territory GST disqualification carries over.

Procedure, powers and definitions

  • 116(2)Eligible authorised representatives include relatives, regular employees, non-debarred advocates entitled to practise in Indian courts, practising non-debarred chartered accountants, cost accountants and company secretaries, and authorised GST practitioners.
  • 116The law does not settle who qualifies as a relative or what proves that relationship.

A person appearing in GST proceedings may use an authorised representative who meets the listed qualifications and is not disqualified. This does not replace required personal examination on oath or affirmation. Eligible retired officers face a waiting period. Government-service dismissal, specified convictions, misconduct and insolvency restrict representation, and State or Union territory disqualifications also apply under this Act.[1]

Text

The text below is the section as served by the CBIC tax information portal on 17 September 2026, with the portal's own amendment footnote markers (shown as small numerals before a bracket) and its footnotes.[1] The Act as published in the Gazette of India is the legal source.

Section 116, verbatim (show)

* Section 116. Appearance by authorised representative.-

(1) Any person who is entitled or required to appear before an officer appointed under this Act, or the Appellate Authority or the Appellate Tribunal in connection with any proceedings under this Act, may, otherwise than when required under this Act to appear personally for examination on oath or affirmation, subject to the other provisions of this section, appear by an authorised representative.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, the expression "authorised representative" shall mean a person authorised by the person referred to in sub-section (1) to appear on his behalf, being-

(a) his relative or regular employee; or (b) an advocate who is entitled to practice in any court in India, and who has not been debarred from practicing before any court in India; or (c) any chartered accountant, a cost accountant or a company secretary, who holds a certificate of practice and who has not been debarred from practice; or (d) a retired officer of the Commercial Tax Department of any State Government or Union territory or of the Board who, during his service under the Government, had worked in a post not below the rank than that of a Group-B Gazetted officer for a period of not less than two years:

Provided that such officer shall not be entitled to appear before any proceedings under this Act for a period of one year from the date of his retirement or resignation; or (e) any person who has been authorised to act as a goods and services tax practitioner on behalf of the concerned registered person.

(3) No person,-

(a) who has been dismissed or removed from Government service; or (b) who is convicted of an offence connected with any proceedings under this Act, the State Goods and Services Tax Act, the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act or the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act, or under the existing law or under any of the Acts passed by a State Legislature dealing with the imposition of taxes on sale of goods or supply of goods or services or both; or (c) who is found guilty of misconduct by the prescribed authority;

(d) who has been adjudged as an insolvent, shall be qualified to represent any person under sub-section (1)-

(i) for all times in case of persons referred to in clauses (a), (b) and (c); and (ii) for the period during which the insolvency continues in the case of a person referred to in clause (d).

(4) Any person who has been disqualified under the provisions of the State Goods and Services Tax Act or the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act shall be deemed to be disqualified under this Act. *Enforced w.e.f . 1st July, 2017.

Questions to answer on the file

Questions a reviewer answers from the engagement file, grouped by the part of the section they come from. They describe what the section asks; they do not decide it.

Scope and what the matter is about the section as a whole

Questions to answer on the file2 questions
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The right to appear by an authorised representative 116(1)

Questions to answer on the file4 questions
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Who may be an authorised representative 116(2)(a) to (e) and the proviso to clause (d)

Questions to answer on the file12 questions
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Who is not qualified to represent 116(3)(a) to (d) with clauses (i) and (ii)

Questions to answer on the file9 questions
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Disqualification under the State or Union territory Act 116(4)

Questions to answer on the file2 questions
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Amendment history

The CBIC text carries 1 footnote. The table gives each in the source's own terms. Effective dates are as the footnotes state them.[1]

Amendments to section 116 as footnoted in the CBIC text
NoteChangeInstrumentEffective from
brought the section as enacted into forcenone; the source's commencement line1 July 2017
Provisions connected to Section 116
ProvisionConnectionWords that tie them
Section 2Section 2 clause (15) defined by this provision2(15) "'authorised representative' means the representative as referred to in section 116"
Section 48116(2)(e) requires Section 48116(2)(e) "any person who has been authorised to act as a goods and services tax practitioner"
Rule 116 of the CGST Rules, 2017116(3)(c) prescribed by rule 116 of the CGST Rules 2017116(3)(c) "who is found guilty of misconduct by the prescribed authority"
Section 70Section 70 requires this provision116(1) "entitled or required to appear before an officer appointed under this Act"

Circulars and notifications

Circulars and notifications in the CBIC repository that cite this section, newest first, by number, date and subject. A listing here does not say what an instrument decides; read the instrument.

Notifications (1)

NumberDateSubject
Notification No. 10/2017-Central Tax28 June 2017Seeks to amend CGST Rules notification no 3/2017-Central Tax dt 19.06.2017 amended by a later instrument

Unsettled questions

The words of section 116 do not answer this question. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.

  1. Who is a "relative" for clause (a) of sub-section (2). The Act defines "family" in clause (49) of section 2 but nowhere defines "relative" for this clause, and the clause admits a relative without any test of the connection or of its proof.

See also

References

  1. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Section 116. Appearance by authorised representative". Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, CBIC tax information portal, with amendment footnotes 1 to 1. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

External links