Indirect Tax Laws · Appeals and Revision (GST)

Revisional Authority and Revision Orders under GST (Section 108 and Rule 109B)

Updated 5 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Revision under GST lets a designated senior officer, the revisional authority, examine a subordinate officer's order and modify, enhance or annul it if it is erroneous and prejudicial to revenue. Rule 109B only prescribes the notice, hearing and order procedure. To solve a question, check the grounds, the bars and the time limit, then the notice and order.

Understand Revisional Authority and Revision Orders

An appeal is filed by the person who is unhappy with an order. Revision works the other way. The department itself looks at an order passed by a subordinate officer and corrects it. The officer who does this is the revisional authority. He must be a designated officer who is superior to the officer who passed the order. The power sits in Section 108 of the CGST Act.

The revisional authority can act on his own motion, on information received, or on a request from the Commissioner of State tax or Union territory tax. He calls for the record of the proceedings and examines it. He can act only if the decision or order of the subordinate officer is erroneous in so far as it is prejudicial to the interest of revenue, and it is also illegal or improper, or has not taken into account certain material facts, whether those facts were available when the order was passed or not. An observation by the Comptroller and Auditor General is not a separate ground. It is one of the circumstances in which the order is treated as illegal, improper or ignoring material facts. Think of a wrongly allowed refund or ITC. The order loses revenue and the law was not applied correctly.

The power has limits. The revisional authority cannot use it in these cases:

The order has been subject to an appeal under Section 107, 112, 117 or 118, and the point is decided in that appeal.
The time for filing an appeal has not yet expired. An appeal under Section 107 must be filed within three months, extendable by one month. Revision opens only after that time has expired.
More than three years have passed since the decision or order.
The order was itself passed in exercise of revisional powers.

There is a proviso for the appeal bar. The authority may revise on a point that was not raised and decided in such an appeal. He must do so before the later of one year from the date of the appellate order or three years from the original order. Read the bars carefully in the question.

The process is fair to the taxpayer. The revisional authority may stay the operation of the order if necessary. He must give the person concerned a reasonable opportunity of being heard and make any further inquiry needed. Rule 109B is a procedural rule only. It does not create the power or widen it. It prescribes the notice and the order. The person can reply and appear. The authority then passes a reasoned order that confirms, modifies, enhances or annuls the original decision or order.

Key rules to remember

Grounds for revision (all must be checked): Order of subordinate officer is erroneous in so far as prejudicial to revenue + (illegal or improper, or ignored material facts); Revision is a revenue-protection power. An order that is only unfavourable to the taxpayer does not qualify. A CAG observation is one circumstance showing the order is illegal, improper or ignores material facts. It is not an independent ground.
Bars on revision: No revision if: order has been subject to appeal (Sections 107, 112, 117, 118) and the point is decided in that appeal, OR appeal time not yet expired, OR more than 3 years from the order, OR order was itself passed in exercise of revisional powers; Proviso: revision is allowed on a point not raised and decided in such an appeal, before the later of 1 year from the appellate order or 3 years from the original order.
Powers of the revisional authority: May stay the order, make further inquiry, and then enhance, modify or annul the order; Stay is discretionary and for such period as he thinks fit. The authority must be a designated officer superior to the one who passed the order.
Procedure under Rule 109B: Notice → reply and hearing → reasoned order; Rule 109B only prescribes the notice and the order. The power and its limits come from Section 108. Natural justice is mandatory where the proposed order is prejudicial to the person.
Appeal vs revision: Appeal: by aggrieved person, within 3 months under Section 107 (extendable by 1 month). Revision: by department, only after the appeal time has expired and within 3 years from the order; Appeal corrects an error against the taxpayer. Revision corrects an error against revenue. The 3-year limit is an outer bar, not a general window, because the appeal time must also have expired.

How to solve Revisional Authority and Revision Orders questions

Use this order for any case question on revision. It makes you check the bars before the merits, which is where marks are decided.

1Identify who passed the order and who proposes to revise it. The revisional authority must be the designated officer superior to the officer who passed the order.
2Check the ground. Is the order erroneous and prejudicial to revenue, and illegal or improper or ignorant of material facts? Write the facts that show this.
3Check the bars. Has the order been subject to appeal with the point decided there, has the appeal period expired, are 3 years over, and was the order itself passed in revision? Apply the proviso if the point was not raised and decided in appeal.
4Count the time from the date of the original order to the date of the proposed revision. State your calculation.
5State the procedure. The authority may stay the order, must serve a notice under Rule 109B and give a hearing. Say that Rule 109B only prescribes the procedure.
6State what the authority can do after the reply: enhance, modify or annul, by an order under Rule 109B.
7Conclude clearly: revision is valid or barred, with the reason in one line. Use the provision, facts, conclusion pattern.

Quickest way: Four-check test for revision questions

When to use it: Use it for case-scenario MCQs and short written answers where you must say whether revision is allowed.

Check 1: Is the order passed by a subordinate of the designated revisional authority, and is it erroneous and prejudicial to revenue? If not, revision fails.
Check 2: Has the order been subject to appeal and the point decided in that appeal? If yes, the bar applies. The proviso lets the authority revise a point not raised and decided in appeal.
Check 3: Is the appeal time still running, or are more than 3 years over, or was the order itself passed in revision? If yes, it is barred.
Check 4: Was a Rule 109B notice served and a hearing given before a prejudicial order? If not, the order is defective.

Common mistakes in Revisional Authority and Revision Orders

Treating revision as a remedy for the taxpayer
Students link it with appeal because both deal with orders.
Fix: Remember that revision is a departmental power to protect revenue. The taxpayer's remedy is appeal.
Allowing revision while the appeal period is still running
Students check only the 3-year limit.
Fix: Check both ends. The appeal time must have expired, and 3 years must not have passed.
Revising a point that has been decided in appeal
They see the order as erroneous and forget the bar.
Fix: Check for an appeal before the merits. The bar applies where the order has been subject to appeal and the point is decided there. The proviso allows revision only on a point not raised and decided in appeal.
Skipping the notice and hearing
Students focus on the power and forget natural justice.
Fix: Write that a prejudicial order needs a Rule 109B notice, a reply opportunity and a hearing before the order. Add that Rule 109B only gives the procedure, while Section 108 gives the power.
Ignoring who the revisional authority is
Students assume any senior officer can revise.
Fix: State that the revisional authority must be a designated officer superior to the one who passed the order.
Saying revision needs only a taxpayer complaint
Confusion with appeal, which starts with the taxpayer.
Fix: State that revision can be on own motion, on information, or on request from the State or UT tax Commissioner.
Giving a conclusion with no reasoning
Time pressure.
Fix: Always write provision, facts, conclusion. Show your date calculation.

Worked examples

Example 1

A Deputy Commissioner passed an order on 10 January 2024 allowing ITC to a registered person, though the ITC was ineligible. No appeal was filed by anyone and the appeal time has expired. On 15 March 2025 the designated revisional authority, an officer superior to the Deputy Commissioner, proposes to revise the order. Can he do so, and how?

Show the solution

Authority: the revisional authority is a designated officer superior to the Deputy Commissioner, so he can examine this order under Section 108.
Ground: ITC was ineligible but allowed. The order is erroneous and causes loss of revenue, so it is prejudicial to revenue and illegal or improper.
Bars: no appeal was filed, so no point was decided in appeal. The appeal time has expired, and the order was not itself passed in revision.
Time: from 10 January 2024 to 15 March 2025 is about 14 months, well within 3 years.
Procedure: the authority may stay the order if needed. As the revised order will hurt the person, he must serve a notice as prescribed by Rule 109B, receive the reply and give a hearing.
After this, he may modify or annul the order by an order under Rule 109B.

Answer: Yes. Revision under Section 108 is valid on the grounds and within time, subject to a notice and a hearing under the Rule 109B procedure before the order is passed.

Example 2

An officer passed an order on 15 June 2022 granting an excess refund. On 20 July 2025 the revisional authority issues a notice proposing to annul it. The registered person argues that revision is not possible. Is he correct?

Show the solution

Ground: an excess refund is erroneous and prejudicial to revenue, so the grounds exist.
Time: from 15 June 2022 to 20 July 2025 is more than 3 years.
Law: the revisional authority cannot use the power if more than 3 years have passed since the order.
Effect: the bar applies even though the order was wrong. The notice under Rule 109B cannot cure it, as that rule only prescribes procedure.
Alternative: other lawful recovery action, if any, would have to rest on its own provisions and time limits, not on revision.

Answer: Yes. The revision proceeding is barred because more than 3 years have passed since the order of 15 June 2022.

Exam tips

Write Section 108 and Rule 109B in the first line of your answer, then the facts and conclusion.
Always do the date calculation in numbers. Examiners reward it.
Questions often hide the bar in a fact, such as an appeal already decided or a lapsed 3-year period. Underline it.
For a difference between appeal and revision, give 4 points: who initiates, purpose, time limit, and beneficiary.
MCQs have no negative marking, so answer every case-scenario MCQ.

Practice questions from Appeals and Revision (GST)

Revisional Authority and Revision Orders: frequently asked questions

What is the difference between appeal and revision under GST?

Appeal is filed by the aggrieved person against an order, within 3 months under Section 107 (extendable by 1 month). Revision is started by the department on its own motion, on information or on request, when an order is erroneous and prejudicial to revenue. Revision is barred where the order has been subject to appeal and the point is decided in that appeal. The authority can still revise a point not raised and decided in that appeal.

What is the time limit for revision under Section 108?

The revisional authority cannot revise an order after more than three years from the date of the order. He also cannot revise while the time for filing an appeal has not yet expired. Where an appeal was decided, the proviso allows revision on a point not raised and decided there, before the later of one year from the appellate order or three years from the original order.

What does Rule 109B require?

Rule 109B is a procedural rule. It prescribes the notice and the order for revision. Where the proposed revisional order is prejudicial to the person, the authority must serve the notice, and the person can reply and be heard. The authority then passes a reasoned order.

Can the revisional authority stay an order?

Yes. If necessary, he may stay the operation of the decision or order for such period as he thinks fit while he examines it. The stay is discretionary.