Guide to appeal an order against GST Registration

An appeal can be filed against the order of Adjudicating Authority, First Appellate Authority, Appellate Tribunal and the High Court. A person aggrieved by an order will have to appeal to the appellate authority within three months of the passing of such an order.

Let us look at the procedure involved in filing an appeal against the registration order passed by the Appellate Authority. Such an order could be of the following types:

Order of rejection of application for registration, amendment of registration or cancellation of registration (GST REG-05)

• Order for cancellation of registration (GST REG-19)
• Order of grant of temporary registration/suo-moto registration (GST REG-12)
• Order for cancellation of provisional registration (GST REG-28)
• Order of rejection of enrolment as GST practitioner (GST PCT-04)
• Order of cancellation of registration as Tax Deductor at source or Tax Collector at source (GST REG-08)
• Order for acceptance/rejection of reply to show cause notice (GST CMP-07) issued in case of opting for/out of composition scheme

Steps to file an appeal against Registration Order

Step 1: Log in to the GST portal. Navigate to Services > My Applications.

Step 2: Select ‘Appeal to Appellate Authority’ as the application type from the drop-down list.

Click on the ‘NEW APPLICATION’ button.

Step 3: On the ‘GST APL-01: Appeal to Appellate Authority’ page, select the order type as ‘Registration Order’ from the drop-down list. Type in order no. against which the appeal is to be made and click on ‘SEARCH’.

Step 4: On the ‘Order Details’ page, select the category of the case under dispute from the drop-down list as applicable and click on ‘Add’. Multiple categories can be added and deleted.

Step 5: Upload annexure to GST APL-01.

On the right-hand side of the page, click on the link to download the annexure to GST APL-01 template. The template will be downloaded. Open the template. Click on the ‘Enable Editing’ button and fill in the applicable details. After doing so, save the document as a PDF by going to File > Save As. Under the ‘Save As’ type list, select ‘PDF (*.pdf)’. Browse to a suitable directory, type in an appropriate file name and click on ‘Save’.

On the ‘Order Details’ page, click on ‘Choose File’. Find the file saved in the earlier step and click on ‘Open’. The file will now be uploaded. It can also be deleted by clicking on the ‘DELETE’ button.

Step 6: Additional supporting documents can be uploaded by entering the document description and clicking on ‘Choose File’.

Care must be taken to upload only PDF/JPEG file formats with a maximum file size limit of 5 MB. Up to four such documents can be uploaded. Browse to the file location and click on ‘Open’. Click on the ‘ADD DOCUMENT’ button.

Step 7: The application can be previewed by clicking on the ‘PREVIEW’ button.

A PDF document with the preview will be downloaded. If everything is in order, select the verification checkbox, choose the appropriate authorised signatory and place. Then click on the ‘Proceed to File’ button.

Step 8: A warning message will be displayed. Click on either ‘Submit with DSC’ or ‘Submit with EVC’, whichever applicable.

In case of choosing ‘Submit with DSC’, select the certificate and click on the ‘Sign’ button.

In case of choosing ‘Submit with EVC’, enter the OTP sent on the registered email address and mobile number.

A confirmation message will be displayed and an option to download the acknowledgement will be made available.

How to reply during an Registration Order appeal proceeding?

For any notice issued by the appellate authority, the appellant can reply by following the below steps:

Step 1: Log in to the GST portal and navigate to the ‘Case Details’ page by clicking on the Dashboard > Services > User Services > View Additional Notices/Orders.

Step 2: Click on the ‘Notices’ tab on the left to view issued notices. A table showing various details of the notice will be displayed. Click on the ‘Reply’ link under the action column.

Step 3: A reply can be submitted in PDF format by clicking on the ‘Choose File’ button under ‘Details of Reply’ as shown in the image below. Supporting documents may be attached under ‘Upload Supporting Documents’. Here, only JPEG and PDF file formats will be allowed. The maximum upload size, in either case, is 5 MB.

Step 4: Select the verification checkbox. Enter the name of the signatory and the place and click on ‘File Reply’.

A confirmation message will be displayed. Click on ‘Proceed’. A warning message will be displayed with the option to either ‘Submit with DSC’ or ‘Submit with EVC’. Click on whichever is applicable. An option to download the submitted reply will be made available.

A reply reference number shall be issued as follows:

Note: The same steps can be used to file a counter-reply.

Steps to file a rectification request of an appeal

Once an appeal order is issued by the appellate authority, the appellant has the option to apply for rectification in the below cases:

• Factual errors/omission
• Incorrect liability due to arithmetic mistakes
• Other reasons (to be specified)

Step 1: Log in to the GST portal and navigate to the ‘Case Details’ page by clicking on Dashboard > Services > User Services > View Additional Notices/Orders.

Step 2: Various details of orders will be displayed in a table. Under the action column, click on the ‘Initiate Rectification’ link. A warning message will be shown in case the rectification is initiated after six months.

Step 3: Select the appropriate reason for rectification, attach the supporting documents and select the verification checkbox. Enter the name of the signatory and the place and click on ‘File Reply’. A confirmation message will be displayed. Click on ‘Proceed’.

Step 4: File by either clicking on ‘Submit with DSC’ or ‘Submit with EVC’. An option to download the submitted reply will be made available.

A rectification reference number is generated, which will be either accepted or rejected by the appellate authority after a thorough examination.