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 120, verbatim (show)
* Section 120. Appeal not to be filed in certain cases.-
(1) The Board may, on the recommendations of the Council, from time to time, issue orders or instructions or directions fixing such monetary limits, as it may deem fit, for the purposes of regulating the filing of appeal or application by the officer of the central tax under the provisions of this Chapter.
(2) Where, in pursuance of the orders or instructions or directions issued under sub-section (1), the officer of the central tax has not filed an appeal or application against any decision or order passed under the provisions of this Act, it shall not preclude such officer of the central tax from filing appeal or application in any other case involving the same or similar issues or questions of law.
(3) Notwithstanding the fact that no appeal or application has been filed by the officer of the central tax pursuant to the orders or instructions or directions issued under sub-section (1), no person, being a party in appeal or application shall contend that the officer of the central tax has acquiesced in the decision on the disputed issue by not filing an appeal or application.
(4) The Appellate Tribunal or court hearing such appeal or application shall have regard to the circumstances under which appeal or application was not filed by the officer of the central tax in pursuance of the orders or instructions or directions issued under sub-section (1).
*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 the appeal that was not filed the section as a whole
Questions to answer on the file2 questions
The Board's orders, instructions or directions fixing monetary limits 120(1)
Questions to answer on the file4 questions
The officer's freedom to file in another case 120(2)
Questions to answer on the file3 questions
No contention of acquiescence 120(3)
Questions to answer on the file3 questions
The regard the Appellate Tribunal or court is to have 120(4)
Questions to answer on the file3 questions
Relationship with other provisions
| Provision | Connection | Words that tie them |
|---|---|---|
| Section 2 | this provision defined by Section 2 clause (16) | 120(1) "The Board may"; 2(16) "'Board' means the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs constituted under the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963" |
| Section 2 | this provision defined by Section 2 clause (36) | 120(1) "on the recommendations of the Council"; 2(36) "'Council' means the Goods and Services Tax Council established under article 279A of the Constitution" |
| Section 107 | Section 107 overridden by this provision | 120(1) "regulating the filing of appeal or application by the officer of the central tax under the provisions of this Chapter", section 107 being in that Chapter |
| Section 112 | Section 112 overridden by this provision | 120(1) "under the provisions of this Chapter", section 112 being in that Chapter |
| Section 117 | Section 117 overridden by this provision | 120(1) "under the provisions of this Chapter", section 117 being in that Chapter |
| Section 118 | Section 118 overridden by this provision | 120(1) "under the provisions of this Chapter", section 118 being in that Chapter |
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.
Circulars (1)
| Number | Date | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Circular No. 207/01/2024-GST | 26 June 2024 | Reduction of Government Litigation – fixing monetary limits for filing appeals or applications by the Department before GSTAT, High Courts and Supreme Court |
Notifications (1)
| Number | Date | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Notification No. 12/2024-Central Tax | 10 July 2024 | Seeks to make amendments (Amendment, 2024) to the CGST Rules, 2017. |
Unsettled questions
The words of section 120 do not answer this question. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.
- Sub-section (2) preserves the officer's freedom to appeal "in any other case involving the same or similar issues or questions of law" and the Act nowhere says what makes issues the same or similar. It does not say whether the same taxable person, the same period, the same transaction or the same reading of a provision is what is compared, nor how near a question of law must be before it is a similar one.
See also
- Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017: appeals to Appellate Authority
- Section 112 of the CGST Act, 2017: appeals to Appellate Tribunal
- Section 117 of the CGST Act, 2017: appeal to High Court
References
- Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Section 120. Appeal not to be filed in certain cases". Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, CBIC tax information portal. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
External links
- CGST Act, 2017, Section 120 on the CBIC tax information portal