Date of online filing of appeal be considered as date of filing GST appeal for the purpose of limitation

The Madras High Court has ruled that the date of online filing of a GST appeal should be considered the official filing date for limitation purposes. This decision clarifies that when an order is uploaded on the GST portal, the provisional acknowledgment date from online submission is paramount. The court emphasised that submitting a hard copy is a procedural step and set aside an order that rejected an appeal based on the hard copy submission date.

The Hon'ble Madras High Court in the case of Kasturi & Sons (P.) Ltd. v. Additional Commissioner of GST & Central Excise (Appeals-1), Chennai [W.P. No. 18642 of 2024 dated July 10, 2024] wherein the Hon'ble High Court taking into consideration Rule 108(3) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 ("the CGST Rules") held that the date of online filing of appeal be considered as the date of filing GST appeal for the purpose of limitation.

Facts:

Kasturi & Sons (P.) Ltd. ("the Petitioner") filed a refund application under Section 54 of the CGST Act, However, the application was rejected vide order dated August 30, 2024 ("the Order"). Thereafter, appeal was filed against the order online on October 31, 2022 and hard copy of the appeal was submitted on August 02, 2023, which was beyond the prescribed time period, based on which the appeal filed was rejected vide order dated March 13, 2024. The Revenue Department ("the Respondent") contended that date of issuance of provisional acknowledgment would be considered as the date of filing of appeal only when the order appealed against was uploaded on common portal.

Issue:

Whether the date of online filing of appeal be considered as date of filing GST appeal for the purpose of limitation?

Held:

The Hon'ble Madras High Court in the case of W.P. No. 18642 of 2024 held as under:

• Observed that, as per rule 108(3) of the CGST Rules, the self-certified copy of the order has to be submitted along with the appeal, only when the order appealed against is not uploaded on GST portal.
• Noted that, as per rule 108(3) of the CGST Rules, it has been stated that when the order is duly uploaded on the common portal, the date of online filing would be considered as the date of filing of appeal.
• Opined that, when the appeal is filed online, the filing of hard copy of appeal is a procedural requirement.
• Held that, the Impugned Order is liable to be set aside.
• Directed that, the appellate authority shall receive the appeal and decide the same on merits.

Relevant Provisions:

"Rule 108(3) of the CGST Rules

(3) Where the decision or order appealed against is uploaded on the common portal, a final acknowledgment, indicating appeal number, shall be issued in FORM GST APL-02 by the Appellate Authority or an officer authorised by him in this behalf and the date of issue of the provisional acknowledgment shall be considered as the date of filing of appeal:

Provided that where the decision or order appealed against is not uploaded on the common portal, the appellant shall submit a self-certified copy of the said decision or order within a period of seven days from the date of filing of FORM GST APL-01 and a final acknowledgment, indicating appeal number, shall be issued in FORM GST APL-02 by the Appellate Authority or an officer authorised by him in this behalf, and the date of issue of the provisional acknowledgment shall be considered as the date of filing of appeal:

Provided further that where the said self-certified copy of the decision or order is not submitted within a period of seven days from the date of filing of FORM GST APL-01, the date of submission of such copy shall be considered as the date of filing of appeal"

OFFICIAL JUDGMENT COPY HAS BEEN ATTACHED