What does section 3 regulate?

It regulates officers under this act. Read the exact text, conditions, exceptions and transaction date together.

Which subordinate law should be checked?

No direct CGST Rule has been certified in this phase. Notifications, circulars, forms and the corresponding SGST/UTGST layer may also apply.

What evidence should be retained?

Preserve the contract or transaction record, invoice or form, portal acknowledgement, payment/ledger evidence, correspondence, legal working and the official source version used.

Can portal behaviour override the statute?

No. Portal functionality is operational evidence; legal entitlement and liability remain controlled by the Act, Rules, notifications and binding decisions.

Section 3 - Officers under this Act

Chapter II - Administration

ACTIVEOFFICIAL_TEXT_CAPTUREDindex,follow

Source control: The text/status on this page is tied to the official source gateway and the Phase 1 legal-review register. Open official source.

Finin2min Summary - Section in 2 Minutes

Creates the statutory classes of Central Tax officers. The hierarchy identifies offices, but does not by itself assign every function or territorial jurisdiction. Government appointment by notification is the starting point. Central Excise officers are deemed officers under the CGST Act. A designation is not enough: the officer must also be the proper officer for the specific function.

Exact operative text

3. Officers under this Act.-The Government shall, by notification, appoint the following classes of officers for the purposes of this Act, namely:- (a) Principal Chief Commissioners of Central Tax or Principal Directors General of Central Tax, (b) Chief Commissioners of Central Tax or Directors General of Central Tax, (c) Principal Commissioners of Central Tax or Principal Additional Directors General of Central Tax, (d) Commissioners of Central Tax or Additional Directors General of Central Tax, (e) Additional Commissioners of Central Tax or Additional Directors of Central Tax, (f) Joint Commissioners of Central Tax or Joint Directors of Central Tax, (g) Deputy Commissioners of Central Tax or Deputy Directors of Central Tax, (h) Assistant Commissioners of Central Tax or Assistant Directors of Central Tax, and (i) any other class of officers as it may deem fit: Provided that the officers appointed under the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944) shall be deemed to be the officers appointed under the provisions of this Act.

Paragraph-wise decode

Section-Rule-Form-Notification bridge

No direct Rule certified in Phase 1. Check notifications, circulars, forms and corresponding State law.

The mapping is a legal concordance, not a round-robin related-link list. It is limited to instruments certified in this phase.

Practical example

A notice signed by an officer of the correct rank can still be challenged if the particular function or territorial jurisdiction was not assigned to that officer. PROFESSIONAL ALERT Always test designation, assignment, territorial jurisdiction and monetary competence separately.

Professional alert

Confirm the transaction-date amendment and commencement position before reliance.

Implementation checklist

Fix the transaction, taxable period and jurisdiction.
Read every subsection, proviso, explanation and omission marker.
Open the mapped Rule, form, notification and circular.
Test State/UT variation and portal version.
Preserve evidence, approvals, working papers and acknowledgements.
Record the conclusion, assumptions, source date and reviewer.

Evidence and retention checklist

Contract, purchase order, invoice or underlying transaction document.
Registration, return, ledger, challan and portal acknowledgement.
Official Act/Rule/notification version used and effective date.
Internal tax position paper, computation and management approval.
Correspondence, notices, replies, orders and appeal papers where applicable.

Practical Q&A

What does section 3 regulate?: It regulates officers under this act. Read the exact text, conditions, exceptions and transaction date together.
Which subordinate law should be checked?: No direct CGST Rule has been certified in this phase. Notifications, circulars, forms and the corresponding SGST/UTGST layer may also apply.
What evidence should be retained?: Preserve the contract or transaction record, invoice or form, portal acknowledgement, payment/ledger evidence, correspondence, legal working and the official source version used.
Can portal behaviour override the statute?: No. Portal functionality is operational evidence; legal entitlement and liability remain controlled by the Act, Rules, notifications and binding decisions.

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