Manual GST appeal filing may be accepted where electronic upload fails, subject to statutory compliance and limitation.

Where GST rules permit manual filing, an inability to upload an appeal electronically should not defeat the appellate remedy. The Court directed that manually tendered appeal papers be treated as the taxpayer's appeal and considered in accordance with law, while preserving the requirement to comply with pre-deposit and other statutory formalities. If those requirements were completed within the stated period, the appellate authority was requested to treat the appeal as filed within limitation. The proceeding was thus disposed of by allowing the manual appeal route subject to full statutory compliance.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner could file the GST appeal manually and have the appeal papers treated as the petitioner's appeal for consideration in accordance with law.

Analysis: The Rules of 2017 were relied upon to recognise manual filing of appeals. The Court directed that the appeal papers handed over in Court be treated by the appellate authority as the petitioner's appeal. The petitioner was also directed to comply with the other requirements for appeal, including pre-deposit and other formalities. If such pre-deposit and formalities were completed within the stated period, the appellate authority was requested to treat the appeal as filed within limitation.

Conclusion: The petitioner was granted a procedural opportunity to pursue the appeal manually, subject to compliance with the appeal requirements.

Final Conclusion: The proceeding was disposed of by directing the appellate authority to receive and consider the appeal papers in accordance with law, while leaving compliance with the statutory appeal requirements intact.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the GST rules permit manual filing, the appellate process should not be defeated by inability to upload electronically, and the authority may treat manually tendered papers as an appeal, subject to statutory compliance.

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