Guide to appeal against Demand Order under GST

Any taxpayer whether registered or not can file an appeal if he/she is unhappy with the decision of the adjudicating authority. The appeal must be filed within three months from the date on which such order was communicated to the taxpayer.

Latest Update

1st February 2021
Union Budget 2021: With respect to orders received on detention and seizure of goods and conveyance, 25% of the penalty needs to be paid for making an application of appeals under section 107 of the CGST Act. The date of applicability is yet to be notified.

3rd April 2020
The time limit for completion or compliance has been extended to 30th June 2020, where the time limit/ date of expiry falls between the period from 20th March 2020 to 29th June 2020. It includes the time limit to file an appeal before the appellate authority under the GST law or the High Court or the Supreme Court including the admission and processing of the appeal.

Steps to file the First Appeal against Demand Order

Pre-conditions to file an appeal:

1. Order must be passed by the adjudicating authority for a taxpayer to file an appeal to the Appellate Authority.
2. PDF reader must be installed on the computer to open the PDF file.

Step 1: Log in to the GST portal.

Step 2: Go to Services>User Services>My applications

On the ‘My Applications’ page, select application type as ‘Appeal to Appellate Authority’ and then click on ‘New Application’.

The ‘GST APL-01-Appeal to Appellate Authority’ page will be displayed.

Step 3: Select the order type as ‘Demand Order’ and enter the order number. Click on search.

The orders page will be displayed.

Step 4: Select the one or more categories of the case under dispute from the drop-down list and click on add.

Following is the list of cases:

The date of communication and period of dispute can be edited by the taxpayer.

Step 5: Upload annexure to GST APL-01- Click on the ‘click here’ link on the order page.

The GST APL-01 template will be downloaded. Click on the ‘Enable Editing’ button and update the details in the annexure.

Save the updated file as ‘AplAnnexureTemplate.pdf’ and upload the same.

Step 6: Update the disputed amount/payment details by clicking on the ‘Disputed amount/Payment details’ button on the order page.

1. Enter the amount under dispute by classifying it as per the tax head, late fee or interest.

2. The amount of demand created and admitted is automatically displayed.

Note: Demand admitted = Demand created – Amount disputed.

Hence, the amount of dispute cannot be more than the demand created.

3. Enter the percentage value of the pre-deposit going to be paid, which is by default a minimum of 10% of the amount disputed.

A lower percentage needs approval from the authority. Accordingly, the ‘Details of Payment required’ table is auto-filled.

4. Enter the place of supply details for the amount of demand admitted. For this, click on hyperlink ‘Integrated Tax’ as follows:

5. Pay using the cash or ITC lying in the electronic ledger: The taxpayer can make the payment by either utilising the cash or the balance of ITC available for utilisation in the ledger.

Step 7: Add supporting documents if needed. Enter the document description and then choose the file for upload. Follow the criteria given in the below image:

Step 8: An applicant can preview the application filed by clicking on the ‘Preview’ button. The PDF file will be downloaded. The applicant view whether the details are correctly updated and then proceed to file.

Step 9: Proceed to file – Select the declaration checkbox. Then select the authorised signatory and enter the place to proceed to file.

Click submit and proceed to file with DSC or EVC. On successful submission, a confirmation message will be displayed.

Steps to file Reply during an Appeal Proceeding

The Appellate Authority may begin proceedings and hearing for the disposition of the appeal or may summon the appellant during the review of the tax department’s application for an appeal. A taxpayer needs to follow the below steps to reply during an appeal proceeding:

Step 1: Log in to the GST portal and navigate to Services>User Services>View Additional Notices/Orders.

Step 2: On the case details page of the particular Case ID, select the notice tab and then click on reply. A ‘Submit a reply to the notice’ page will open.

Step 3: Upload the reply file, upload the supporting documents, check the verification checkbox and then click on the ‘File Reply’ button.

A warning message will pop-up. Click proceed and then submit with DSC or EVC. An acknowledgement will pop-up on successful upload of reply.

Steps to file a Rectification Request of an Appeal

Step 1: Login to the GST portal.

Step 2: Navigate to Services>User Services>View Additional Notices/Orders Click on view on the ‘Additional Notices/orders’ page.

Case Details page displayed.

Step 3: Click on the ‘Orders’ tab and select ‘Initiate rectification’.

Step 4: The initiate rectification page will be displayed. Choose the relevant rectification reason and upload the supporting documents if required. Then click on ‘Initiate’ and submit with either DSC or EVC.

On successful submission, a message will pop up stating the rectification request Number.

Frequently Asked Questions on filing Appeal against Demand Order

What are various appeal statuses?

Sr.No.	Description	Status
1	Appeal form successfully filed	Appeal submitted
2	Appeal form successfully admitted	Appeal admitted
3	When an appeal form is rejected	Appeal rejected
4	When hearing notice is issued	Hearing notice issued
5	When counter reply received against a notice	Counter reply received
6	Issue of Show cause notice	Show cause notice issued
7	Appeal is confirmed/modified/rejected	Appeal order passed
8	Adjournment of hearing to next date	Adjournment granted
9	Rectification application filed	Rectification request received
10	Rectification application is rejected	Rectification request rejected
11	An appeal in order is rectified	Rectification order passed

What happens if the taxpayer does not file the appeal within three months?

The Appellate Authority may condone the delay by one month if it is satisfied that the taxpayer was prevented by sufficient cause from presenting the appeal.

Is it necessary to deposit 10% of disputed tax and whether the disputed tax balance remains on filing an appeal?

Minimum 10% of pre-disputed tax needs to be paid as a deposit before filing an appeal. Once the status of appeal filed changes to ‘Admitted’, the GST portal flags the disputed amount as non-recoverable.

From where can a taxpayer view a submitted appeal?

A taxpayer has to navigate to Services>User Services>My Applications>Application Type as Appeal to Appellate Authority>From and To Date>SEARCH button.