Goods and service tax appellate tribunal. Part five.

In an outreach program conducted by Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industries on 25/06/2026 at Hyderabad, Honorable President, GSTAT participated virtually and clarified that the due date presently kept as 30/06/2026 is not likely to be extended as GSTAT neither has the jurisdiction nor the power to extend it. The message passed on to the participants was very loud and clear which is Do not spend the next four days hoping for an extension. Spend them in filing your appeal. The Honorable President has also assured that he will personally monitor the portal, coordinate with the technical team, and the portal capacity has been enhanced to handle the expected rush. This is very true as at 09.50 PM on 26/06/2026 when this article is under progress, a record number of more than 30,000 appeals have already been filed so far out of which more than 18,000 e appeals during the last 26 days.

It is gathered that if a genuine attempt to file before the due date fails due to technical glitches, the digital footprint of the taxpayer could make the difference. Portal logs, error screenshots, timestamps, payment attempts and saved as draft may help establish a bona fide attempt. The Honorable President indicated that within his powers, he may issue appropriate directions/orders to condone delay in deserving cases where the appeal is filed within a reasonable time and supported by such digital evidence. The final message that was conveyed to all connected with GSTAT appeal is that the problem is not the deadline. It is the delay. File now. Do not wait for an extension.

Section 112 (1) of the CGST Act, 2017 states in unambiguous terms that for cases where OIA passed up to 31/03/2026, last date is 30/06/2026 and for all other cases, it is three months from the respective OIA date. Any extension beyond this is possible only by the GST Council, the next meeting of which is not even finalized as on date. The taxpayers as well as tax professionals may at least register themselves in the GSTAT portal and start filing the APL 05. In case the applicable court fees is paid before 30/06/2026 and an attempt is made to file the appeal in time, the portal captures the data and may help you in condoning any reasonable delay.

It is not out of place to mention that there is no gain on complaining of system glitches as more than 30,000 e appeals have already been filed and the system has proved that it is capable of accepting huge number of appeals. The date of payment of applicable pre deposit as well as court fees may be kept as on or before 30/06/2026 to establish that there was an intention to file the appeal within the stipulated time. It appears that the benches may be lenient in condoning the delay in filing the appeal at least during July 2026. The first priority may be kept to file latest by 30/06/2026 with the second priority as 10/07/2026 with a condonation of delay petition as well as applicable additional fees of 5,000/-.

One may not be able to file all the required information in one go or within just two hours as the requirements are many. We need complete and comprehensive details before filing the appeal which are tabled for ready reference.

The above list is only illustrative and taxpayer may add any other relevant document to strengthen the case. However, due care is a must to avoid any unconnected or irrelevant papers. The quantity in terms of number of pages is not important but the quality and accuracy of the submissions are most important.

This series is concluded with this part as by the time when this article is published, the e appeals filed in the GSTAT portal might be in six digits and not in five which is the case as on date. As a matter of caution, it is reiterated that in case the GSTAT appeal is rejected either due to poor presentation or on timelines, the damages are very heavy as 80% of disputed taxes as well as applicable interest and penalty is deemed to be confirmed on which the Revenue may take harsh recover action. When the situation reaches that stage, neither the jurisdictional high court nor the Supreme Court may take a lenient view.

Let us conclude this topic with a positive note that the Honorable President of GSTAT is in favor of filing large number of appeals and he is also personally monitoring all the connected developments. There could be several reasons which delay the filing process, but in case there is a determination to file the appeal accurately, those reasons will disappear and the path for filing the appeal will be short and clear. Wishing all taxpayers and tax professionals a hectic time ahead till such time all the deserving appeals are duly filed before the GSTAT as early as possible and in no case later than 31/07/2026 with a parallel prayer to all benches to condone the delay with leniency till such time the situation improves drastically.