TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
Goods and service tax appellate tribunal- part three.
As on 24/06/2026, around 24,000 e appeals have already been filed out of which around 12,000 appeals filed within the past 24 days giving us a hope that the magic figure of six digits may be crossed shortly within the next few days. For those who believe that the entire process of filing one appeal in GSTAT portal is possible within few hours, it is cautioned that it requires around two days for the first time filing as there are several procedural requirements.
The preparation of required documents to be attached and the order in which it is to be attached are also very important. As step 1, let us see the required annexures for filing the GSTAT Appeal. It is suggested to make documents in A4 size sheet neatly typed in double space by choosing Times New Roman font with a font size 12. The documents which are being uploaded may be done in the same order as per the following table.
S.No | Description of document as per GSTAT Portal |
1 | Appeal |
2 | Affidavits |
3 | Annexure |
4 | Impugned Order/Revisional Order (APL-04) |
5 | Vakalatnama. |
6 | Payment receipt |
7 | Any Other Document |
8 | Higher Court Orders (if applicable) |
9 | Condonation of Delay (if applicable) |
10 | Show Cause Notice. (Self Certified by taxpayer or tax professional) |
11 | Order In Original DRC -07 |
12 | APL-01/ALL-03/ Appeal to First Appellate authority with detailed appeal |
13 | Previous payment particulars (payments made after OIO) |
14 | Pre -Deposit at First Appellate authority |
15 | Pre- Deposit at the time of filing appeal at GST Appellate Tribunal |
16 | Statement of Facts |
17 | Grounds of Appeal. |
It is also suggested to prepare a case summary which is required to be attached as any other document.
The statement of fact may be compared with the diary of events to be narrated in chronological order starting from the base for issuance of SCN. Clear distinction is a must as grounds of appeal has to be furnished separately.
Grounds of appeal is the most important documents amongst all the above which should be prepared with utmost care. Ideally simple grounds must also appear in addition to strong legal grounds. There are no restrictions on the number of grounds and accordingly all possible grounds may be taken by serially numbering them. Filing the appeal before GSTAT is a highly procedure oriented one and only when stage one is perfect, stage 2 is possible and so on and so forth. In order to facilitate the first time filers of GSTAT appeals, part 1 of the check list is appended for ready reference.
No | Description |
1 | Has the order appealed against (OIA) been uploaded with a certified copy |
2 | Has OIO been uploaded with a certified copy |
3 | Have issues under dispute before Tribunal have been clearly stated |
4 | Case summary of dispute |
5 | Statement of facts included |
6 | Have all uploaded documents been digitally signed by the person uploading them |
7 | Have the fees as specified in Rule 110 (5) of CGST Rule been paid |
8 | Has bookmarking/pagination been done according to the Index |
9 | Have all documents uploaded have been colour scanned from the original |
10 | Has the appeal been prepared in English |
11 | If any orders/notices/statements were passed in a language other than English, has an English translation been uploaded? |
12 | Are all affidavits properly attested and identified |
13 | If an English translation been uploaded, has an affidavit confirming the accuracy of the translation been uploaded by the appellant/Authorised representative/Translator |
The other ingredients as contained in the GSTAT portal shall be covered in part four.
Wherever the OIO or OIA has been passed in violation of the provisions contained in law, it is suggested to rely upon the provision itself by clearly establishing how this been violated. In a like manner in respect of cases where the jurisdictional high courts have passed the final order granting the required relief to the taxpayer without remanding the case, it may be concluded as the issue has attained finality and accordingly a reference to the respective case law may be made in appeal papers to strengthen the case.
In a few cases, the OIO or OIA may be passed declining the ITC under section 17 (5) which may not be correct as orders are being passed with ulterior motive to improve the collections. The tax officials simply refer to the main provision and decide the issue without going in depth. One classic example of such situation is section 17 (5) (d) which relates to goods and services or both when supplied for construction of immovable property. The tax officials quote this and deny ITC on steel cement, paint and other construction related materials. In case the amount is small, the taxpayer who is unable to convince the tax officer simply pay tax with interest as well to buy peace. However, the explanation (1) provides that the expression construction includes re-construction, renovation, additions or alterations or repairs to the extent of capitalisation, to the said immovable property. This line of arguments that the expenses were debited in the profit and loss account of the respective financial year itself and accordingly, denial of ITC is not warranted is not accepted by field formation who also orally suggest the taxpayer to seek relief at GSTAT. Wherever the disputed amount is in excess of 50,000 it is worth to file appeal before GSTAT, if it is already rejected at first appeal level.
As the next few working days are highly crucial for filing appeal before GSTAT, let all of us work together to ensure that maximum appeals are filed by midnight of 30/06/2026.