CBIC Constitutes Working Group to Examine Centralised Administration of Taxpayers with Multiple GST Registrations:

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has issued an office memorandum proposing a centralized GST administration framework for taxpayers operating across multiple states/UTs under a single PAN.

The CBIC observed that taxpayers operating under the same Permanent Account Number (PAN) often hold multiple GST registrations (GSTINs) across different central tax jurisdictions. Such an arrangement may lead to administrative complexities and compliance challenges. To address these concerns and enhance administrative efficiency, the Board has decided to examine the feasibility of introducing a centralized administration mechanism for such taxpayers.

The Office Memorandum constitutes a working group headed by Shri Vinayak Chandra Gupta, consisting of 11 dedicated members, namely:

i. Shri Vinayak Chandra Gupta, Chief Commissioner, Lucknow CGST& CX Zone – Chairman.

ii. Shri Sanjay Mahendru, Pr. Additional Director General, HRM-I, DGHRD.

iii. Shri Gaurav Singh, Commissioner, GST Policy Wing.

iv. Dr. Kotraswamy M., Commissioner, Bengaluru South CGST & CX.

v. Shri Pradip Gurumurthy, Commissioner, Aurangabad CGST & CX.

vi. Officer nominated by the CEO, GSTN.

vii. Additional Director General (HQ), DGPM.

viii. Additional Director General (HQ), DG Audit.

ix. Ms. Sarika Shah, Additional Commissioner, Thane (Audit) CGST & CX.

x. Ms. Shrunkhala Kangale, Director, GST Policy Wing.

xi. Ms. Saumya Gupta, Deputy Commissioner, GST Policy Wing.

The group has also been authorized to co-opt any officer or expert, if required, for carrying out its mandate.

Terms of Reference

The Working Group has been entrusted with the mandate to analyze key operational aspects and submit implementable proposals within 30 days of the issuance of the memorandum. The core terms of reference include:

• Evaluation of Administrative Friction: Identifying practical challenges arising from multi-jurisdictional oversight for taxpayers carrying the same PAN across different States/UTs.

• Historical & Global Benchmarking: Studying previous administrative setups such as the Large Taxpayer Unit (LTU) and centralized registration under the erstwhile Central Excise and Service Tax regimes, alongside international best practices.

• Voluntary vs. Mandatory Framework: Recommending whether the centralized administration model should be offered as an optional mechanism or enforced mandatorily for eligible taxpayers.

• Scope and Eligibility Determination: Evaluating whether coverage should extend solely to entities whose GSTINs are entirely registered under central tax jurisdictions or also include central GSTINs of entities having mixed registrations (central and state/UT jurisdictions).

• Criteria for Jurisdictional Allocation: Formulating principles to determine which specific jurisdiction will administer the entity (e.g., location of the head office, highest annual turnover, or balanced workload distribution across field formations).

• Structural and Statutory Reforms: Identifying essential administrative, legal, and IT system-level modifications, alongside required adjustments in organizational hierarchy and manpower deployment.

The Working Group has been entrusted with examining the challenges arising from multiple tax administrations for taxpayers having the same PAN but multiple GSTINs. The group may also recommend any additional measures necessary for introducing the proposed system. The Working Group has been directed to submit its report, along with a detailed implementation roadmap and draft proposals for consideration by the Board, within 30 days from the date of issuance of the Office Memorandum.

For full information, refer to the official memorandum.