How to File Appeal under GST Act – Process and FAQs

Dear Readers, the Government of India is implementing new laws in Country to make India a developed Country with a speedy manner. To achieve this objective a big taxation reform has been made in indirect taxation structure in July 2017 with the implementation of GST Law. As you all know, in the initial time of GST Implementation due to technical issues in GST Portal and drafting errors in law, it becomes litigation law instead of Good and Simple Tax. Some errors in GST Portal are still under the corrective stage. After the implementation of GST Law, many matters gone into Courts due to litigation between Department and Assessee and many cases are decided in Assessee favour. In this article, we are discussing provisions related to the first appellate authority from Assessee point of view.

In GST, Appeal Proceedings are governed by Section 107 of CGST Act, 2017. If the assessee is not satisfied by any decision or order passed by GST Officer then he has the right to file an appeal before the appellate authority.

As per Section 107 (1) of CGST Act, 2017, any person aggrieved by any decision or order passed under this Act or the SGST Act or UTGST Act by an adjudicating authority may appeal to such Appellate Authority as may be prescribed within 3 months from the date on which the said decision or order is communicated to such person.

As per Rule No – 108 of CGST Rules 2017, an appeal to the Appellate Authority under Section 107 (1) shall be filed in FORM GST APL -01, along with the relevant documents, either electronically or otherwise as may be notified by the Commissioner and a provisional acknowledgement shall be issued to the appellant immediately.

Note: As on the present date, the appeal is filed online through GST Portal after login into dealer account.

Login into your GST Account < Select Services from Dashboard < User Services < My Application < Application Type < Appeal to Appellate Authority

Note: It is to be noted that before filing appeal online you’re Grounds of appeal must be prepared. They must be prepared with due care because the whole appeal proceeding will depend on the grounds of appeal.

Appeal form (Form GST APL-01) must be signed by authorized person/Owner as specified in rule 26 of CGST Rules 2017.

As per Rule 108 (3) of CGST Rules 2017, copy of the online filled form along with a certified copy of the decision or order appealed against shall be submitted within 7 days of filing the appeal under sub-rule (1) and a final acknowledgement, indicating appeal number shall be issued thereafter in FORM GST APL-02 by the Appellate Authority or an officer authorised by him in this behalf

Provided that where the certified copy of the decision or order is submitted within seven days from the date of filing the FORM GST APL-01, the date of filing of the appeal shall be the date of the issue of the provisional acknowledgement and where the said copy is submitted after seven days, the date of filing of the appeal shall be the date of the submission of such copy.

Explanation– For the provisions of this rule, the appeal shall be treated as filed only when the final acknowledgement, indicating the appeal number, is issued.

After submission of Appeal, on a specified date dealer/authorized representative has to present before the Appellate Authority and provide details related to disputed matters. After hearing the case/matter, it may be decided in favour of the dealer or decided against the dealer. If the dealer is still not satisfied with the decision, he has the option to file a further appeal before Appellate Tribunal.

FAQ’s related to GST Appeal

Q1 – If due to some unavoidable circumstances dealer is not able to file an appeal within a specified period of 3 Months, whether any condonation is allowed in case of late filing of Appeal?

Ans: As per Section 107 (4) of CGST Act 2017, the Appellate Authority may, if he is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from presenting the appeal within the aforesaid period of 3 Months, allow it to be presented within a further period of 1 Month.

Note: The onus to prove that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal lies on the dealer. It is a discretionary power of Appellate Authority to condone the delay or not, so it is suggested that appeal must be filed within the specified time period.

Q2- A demand order of Rs.10 Lakh has been issued to me by Proper officer; however I am not satisfied with the same and want to file an appeal against it. Whether I am required to deposit any pre-deposit before filing an appeal?

Ans: As per Section 107 (6) of CGST Act, 2017, No appeal shall be filed under Section 107 (1), unless the appellant has paid –

(a) In full, such part of amount of tax, interest, fine, fee and penalty arising from the impugned order, as is admitted by him; and

(b) a sum equal to 10% of the remaining amount of tax in dispute arising from the said order (subject to a maximum of 25 Crore Rupees), in relation to which the appeal has been filed.

As per this rule in your case, if the whole amount is under dispute then you are required to pay Rs.1,00,000/- at time of appeal filing.

Q3- When appealable order is passed by the proper officer, some grounds/documents are not considered by them and at time of filing grounds of appeal I also forgot to mention about these documents. Now I want to present those documents before Appellate Authority, whether that documents are admissible at the time of appeal hearing?

Ans: As per Section 107 (10) of CGST Act, 2017, the Appellate Authority may, at the time of hearing of an appeal, allow an appellant to add any ground of appeal not specified in the grounds of appeal, if it is satisfied that the omission of that ground from the grounds of appeal was not willful or unreasonable.

This article is for the purpose of information and shall not be treated as a solicitation in any manner and for any other purpose whatsoever. It shall not be used as a legal opinion and not be used for rendering any professional advice. This article is written on the basis of the author’s personal experience gained. Adequate attention has been given to avoid any clerical/arithmetical error, however; if it still persists kindly intimate us to avoid such error for the benefits of other readers.

The Author can be reached at mail –[email protected] and Mobile/Whatsapp – 9911303737 / 9716118384