Mandatory GST appeal form and fee compliance is essential for maintainability before the appellate advance ruling authority.

Compliance with the prescribed statutory form and fee is mandatory for maintaining an appeal before the appellate advance ruling authority. An appeal had to be filed in Form GST ARA-02 with the prescribed fee under the relevant GST rules and the payment provision, and the appellant failed to satisfy these requirements despite being asked to do so. Because the jurisdictional filing conditions were not met, the appeal was not maintainable, was rejected, and the merits of the dispute were not examined.

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Issues: Whether the appeal against the advance ruling was maintainable in the absence of filing in the prescribed form and payment of the prescribed fee.

Analysis: The appeal was required to be presented in Form GST ARA-02 and accompanied by the prescribed fee under Rule 106 of the Andhra Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 read with Section 49 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The appellant did not comply with these mandatory requirements despite being called upon to do so. Since the procedural requirements for invoking the appellate advance ruling jurisdiction were not satisfied, the appeal could not be entertained and the merits of the dispute were not examined.

Conclusion: The appeal was not maintainable and was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: Compliance with the prescribed statutory form and fee is mandatory for maintaining an appeal before the appellate advance ruling authority, and non-compliance renders the appeal liable to rejection without consideration of merits.

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