Certified copy not required under amended GST appellate rule; appeal dismissal for that reason was set aside.

Under the amended Rule 108(3) of the Haryana Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, a certified copy of the impugned order was no longer required where the order had been uploaded on the common portal; a self-certified copy was contemplated only if it had not been uploaded. An appeal could therefore not be dismissed solely for failure to file a certified copy once the governing procedure had changed. The dismissal was set aside, and the appellate authority was directed to decide the appeal on merits expeditiously on the basis of the photocopy of the impugned order.

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Issues: Whether an appeal under the Haryana Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 could be dismissed for failure to submit a certified copy of the impugned order after the rule was amended to dispense with that requirement.

Analysis: The amended Rule 108(3) of the Haryana Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 no longer required submission of a certified copy of the decision or order where the order was uploaded on the common portal, and instead contemplated filing of a self-certified copy only where the order was not so uploaded. The Court noted the departmental memo stating that the certified-copy requirement had been done away with and that the amended position had been communicated to the appellate authorities. In view of the change in the governing procedure, the dismissal of the appeal solely on the ground of non-filing of a certified copy could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The dismissal of the appeal was set aside and the appellate authority was directed to decide the appeal on merits expeditiously after considering the photocopy of the impugned order.

Ratio Decidendi: When the applicable appellate rule no longer insists on a certified copy as a condition for filing or maintaining the appeal, the appeal cannot be rejected solely for want of such certified copy and must be heard on merits.

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